"Can't take anything away from him" - Alexander Volkanovski answers if quick turnaround following Islam Makhachev KO led to UFC 298 loss

Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski lost his title to undefeated challenger Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 298.

The loss marked Volkanovski's second straight defeat after he fell in similar fashion against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. Makhachev caught him with a head kick in the very first round to end their title rematch with another victory.

Just under four months elapsed between Makhachev's head kick and Topuria's right hook, which by typical standards is a quick turnaround for any fighter, let alone a defending champion switching between weight classes.

However, Volkanovski made no attempt to use his turnaround time as an excuse when asked about it. He instead credited Topuria for his vicious knockout and reiterated that his preparation and fight camp had been positive without any reason to complain.

During the post-fight press conference, Volkanovski said:

"Nah, look, you can’t take anything away from Topuria. If he puts a hand on you like that, you’re going to go down. I don’t care. That’s just that. Like, I mean that was a clean right hand. I think no matter who you are, if you let one of those land on your chin while you’re caught there, you’re probably going down... So, he caught me. I won’t take nothing away from him. I won’t sit there and say, ‘It was this. It was that.’ I felt great. Camp was great. I felt good in there."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's full comments below (1:38):

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Islam Makhachev lauds Alexander Volkanovski as "one of the greatest champions" at featherweight

Alexander Volkanovski's loss at UFC 298 led to former opponent Islam Makhachev offering words of consolation.

Makhachev and Volkanovski have fought twice at UFC 284 and UFC 294 last year. Despite Makhachev coming out on top both times, the two have cultivated a mutual respect for each other and a healthy relationship.

Makhachev took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to praise Volkanovski as one of the greatest to do it at featherweight and motivated him to come back stronger. The lightweight champion also congratulated the newly crowned featherweight champ, Ilia Topuria.

Makhachev wrote:

"Alex is undeniably one of the greatest champion in the FW division. Keep your head up and come back strong! Congrats to new champ Topuria, well done биджо!"