Diego Lopes explains the “mistake” people are making about Alexander Volkanovski’s KO losses to Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev: “Pay attention"

Alexander Volkanovski will be entering the octagon at UFC 314 against Diego Lopes off the back of two brutal knockout defeats. 'The Great' lost to Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 before being put out cold against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. His back-to-back losses have been a major topic of discussion ahead of the Australian's return.

But Volkanovski's upcoming opponent recently explained that he is not viewing the former champion's two defeats in the same light as many fans and pundits. Lopes shared his calculated perspective during a recent interview with mainevent ahead of his first UFC title fight.

He said this:

"I think people made a mistake of actually paying attention to that side, and they don't pay attention to the other side, which is basically [Volkanovski] had one loss in the [featherweight] division. That's what I see. I don't think it's going to affect him, especially because he took some time off after his last loss. I am waiting and I am prepared for the best Alex Volkanovski out there. That's who I'm ready to face." [Translated by Fabiano Buskie]

Catch Diego Lopes discussing Alexander Volkanovski below (10:05):

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Alexander Volkanovski's coach addresses the former champ being "written off" ahead of Diego Lopes bout

There are questions surrouding how well Alexander Volkanovski will perform against Diego Lopes at UFC 314 after suffering brutal knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria. Volkanovski's long time coach, Joe Lopez, believes that the doubts surrouding 'The Great' are natural.

But Lopez also pointed out that both he and 'The Great' have always been viewed as underdogs, and that Volkanovski thrives on having a point to prove. The Absolute MMA coach was recently interviewed on Submission Radio ahead of the featherweight title fight against Lopes.

Volkanovski's coach was asked if he was surprised by the amount of predictions siding with the Brazilian-born Mexican, and he said:

"No, not at all. You're always as good as your last fight. [Volkanovski] didn't go too good in his last fight. Obviously he's gonna be the underdog. People are gonna write him off. But we've always liked that, being the underdog, people doubting us from the beginning. If anything, that just spurs Alex on more and makes him more determined to win."

Catch Alexander Volkanovski's coach discussing their underdog status below (9:55):