Alexander Volkanovski explains how Islam Makhachev KO affected his mindset against Ilia Topuria

Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski put on one of the most well-rounded displays of mixed martial arts in the sport's history when they clashed for the lightweight title at UFC 284. Their rematch, however, could not have been a starker contrast.

Volkanovski lost to Makhachev via unanimous decision in their first fight, but suffered a knockout defeat in round one of their rematch. Just four months later, 'The Great' was defending his featherweight title against arguably the hardest hitter below 170 pounds, Ilia Topuria.

The Australian faced Topuria at UFC 298, where the former featherweight king was defeated in devastating fashion via knockout in round two.

Ahead of the fight, Volkanovski was adamant that his KO loss to Makhachev would not affect his mindset against 'El Matador'. However, during a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson, the 36-year old shared the exact moment he felt the effects of the KO loss at UFC 294.

He said this:

"No one could have changed my mind... They're like, 'But you're coming off a knockout loss. It messes with your confidence and all that.' I'm calling bulls**t on that, I didn't believe any of that. You couldn't have told me [any different]. The only time I maybe felt something a little bit was when I was in the cage [against Topuria]. That's when I was like, 'Alright, maybe there is something to this.'"

Catch Volkanovski discussing his KO loss to Islam Makhachev below (48:15):

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Alexander Volkanovski analyzes Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria

Following Ilia Topuria's decision to vacate the featherweight title and move to lightweight there have been calls for him to clash with Islam Makhachev. Fans believe that Topuria has the best chance of defeating Makhachev out of any fighter in the lightweight division.

'El Matador' has displayed show-stopping knockout power since entering the promotion, and he became the first fighter to knockout Max Holloway when they fought at UFC 308.

During Alexander Volkanovski's interview with Demetrious Johnson, he was asked to breakdown a potential clash between Makhachev and Topuria.

'The Great' said:

"If [Ilia Topuria] puts hands on anyone, if he traps [Islam Makhachev] , gets them where they don't wanna be and lands a nice big shot, its gonna be game over. He can knock out anyone, even in the lightweight division... I'm going with what I know, and I know he can hit hard. I’ve felt it firsthand." [1:21:30-1:22:20]