Alexander Volkanovski's BJJ coach disregards Islam Makhachev's grappling ahead of UFC 284

Alexander Volkanovski is set to make his highly anticipated debut in the lightweight division at UFC 282. The Australian-born featherweight champion, who is the current pound-for-pound king, will challenge newly-crowned lightweight champion Islam Makahchev for the title. The fight is scheduled to take place on February 12, 2023, at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

In the lead-up to the highly anticipated bout, Alex Volkanovski's BJJ coach Craig Jones spoke with Submission Radio about Islam Makhachev's grappling skills. He commented that while the Dagestani may be able to pin down his opponents, his submission skills are subpar. Jones went on to express his opinion on Sambo and suggested that it is not as effective as many believe.

Speaking in an interview, the coach further said:

"He's just good at holding people down. Like, he submits people, but I don't think he has good submissions. You know what I mean, like it's a wrestling culture and obviously have some submissions in Sambo and stuff but is pretty bad as grappling art. You know, like a lot of the sambo guys into tournaments, they want heel hooks bans, you know. So it's not a complete grappling art on the ground. But again what he [Islam Makahchev] does well is his ability to hold people down from half guard and close guard especially, and then as they make bad decisions he's able to pounce on submissions."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's BJJ coach give his take on the upcoming super-fight in the interview below [2:46 mark]:

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Alexander Volkanovski is confident about his upcoming lightweight title fight

Alexander Volkanovski is feeling confident ahead of his upcoming title fight against Islam Makahchev. The UFC pound-for-pound king has been preparing hard for the bout and believes he is more than ready to take on the challenge.

Appearing in a video uploaded to Israel Adesanya's YouTube channel, 'Volk' said:

"Everyone says that and I mean underdog and all that but I do, you know, that's them, challenges and being the being the underdog and proving the doubt. And all that type of stuff, you know. I won't let it really get to me but I let it get to me enough where I'd be like, all right I' gonna train that a little bit hard. I'm going to shut these guys up and I'm going to go out there and do it and it makes me want them fights... I'm twice as strong as I was, you know what I mean, my defense is just on point, I'm like a like an absolute brick wall."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's interview below [1:42 mark]: