Alexander Volkanovski revisits dark times before Islam Makhachev rematch: “It was hard for me to find real purpose"

Alexander Volkanovski proved himself to be one of a kind after accepting a short-notice title clash with Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. The pair had previously clashed at UFC 284, which saw the Dagestani fighter secure a unanimous decision win.

'The Great' replaced Charles Oliveira, who was forced to withdraw from the clash after receiving a nasty cut in training, at UFC 294 on two-weeks notice.

However, the result of their rematch was a stark contrast to their UFC 284 clash, as the Dagestani knocked out his opponent in Round 1 with a stunning head kick.

But arguably even more surprising than the result, was Volkanovski's vulnerability in the post-fight press conference, elaborating on mental struggles he had faced prior to the fight.

During a recent interview with Israel Adesanya's brother, David, the Australian reflected on his "rough patch" in 2023, saying this:

"Before the second Islam fight, going through a bit of a rough patch there, a bit of that was because I wasn't in the gym through injury. Obviously, we'd had the newborn [baby] and that as well. So I had a lot happening, but I couldn't switch [my brain] off from fighting. I was still [thinking], 'Man, how much longer do I have in the sport? I should be in the gym, I should be do this.' And 'cause I'm not, [I thought], 'Oh man, what's going on?' It was hard for me to find real purpose in the gym, unless I was training for a fight... There was a few things going on."

Watch Alexander Volkanovski's interview below (5:15):

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Alexander Volkanovski discusses his fighting future amid Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway talks

Alexander Volkanovski suffered two brutal knockouts in his last two fights, first against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 before losing his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.

'The Great' has opted to take an extended break from competing to fully recover, but is eager to return to action before the end of 2024.

Given Max Holloway's incredible KO win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, there have been talks of a Topuria-Holloway clash whilst Volkanovski recovers.

During his recent interview with David Adesanya, the Australian shared two possible opponents he could fight upon return, should 'El Matador' face Holloway next.

He said:

"[The UFC] are probably gonna do Max and Ilia in September... I don't want to wait too long either... If they want me to fight in March or something, well, I'm going to fight at lightweight. I want an exciting fight, a Charles Oliveira, I did call out Poirier." [19:40-20:46 in Alexander Volkanovski's aforementioned interview]