Robert Whittaker sees the short-notice UFC 294 headliner potentially playing in Alexander Volkanovski’s favor.
Featherweight champion Volkanovski (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC) will step in on less than two weeks’ notice to challenge Islam Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) for the lightweight title in Saturday’s headliner at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The main card airs on pay-per-view at a special time of 2 p.m. ET following prelims on ESPN+.
Volkanovski wanted to immediately run things back after falling short to Makhachev in their first fight at UFC 284 in February. Volkanovski pushed Makhachev to the brink in a unanimous decision loss, but will have much less time to prepare for the rematch.
“I’m interested for this fight for sure, just to see how the dynamic between Makhachev and Volk changes from the first fight,” Whittaker said on his MMArcade Podcast. “Him going in maybe 12 days with nothing to lose, making a ton of money, last minute, late notice, nothing to lose, everything to gain – I think that sort of head space gets him in there almost better than the first time they fought because it frees him up.”
Just like the short-notice nature benefit Nate Diaz against Conor McGregor and Michael Bisping against Luke Rockhold, Whittaker thinks Volkanovski could pull the upset with the odds stacked against him.
“He’s got nothing to lose, everything to gain,” Whittaker said. “I can see that being a bit of a problem for Makhachev. I look at it and I wonder, ‘What does Makhachev do from the first fight to beat Volk? What can Makhachev do differently so that it’s not as close of a fight?’ Because arguably, Volk won (the first fight).”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.