"Genius way to hide an injury" - Fans react as Alexander Volkanovski shows up at UFC 298 press conference as "Old Man Volk"

Alexander Volkanovski is truly leaning into his "Old Man Volk" routine. He recently showed up at the UFC 298 press conference dressed as an elderly gentleman and played the part exceptionally well. He's set to face Ilia Topuria in a featherweight title fight this weekend at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

For context, Volkanovski recently starred in a hilarious advertisement for Sportsbet Australia. The 35-year-old took cognizance of fans doubting his chances against the 27-year-old Topuria due to their age difference and leaned into the joke by cosplaying an old-age UFC fighter getting through his day.

The satirical video shows him prepping for a main-event fight while humorously dismissing concerns about his age being a deciding factor against a younger opponent. The joke stems from a statistic showing fighters at 35 or older being a combined 2-30 in title fights at or below 170 pounds in the modern UFC era.

Nevertheless, 'The Great' doesn't appear to let statistics affect him. Given the overwhelmingly positive response to his "Old Man Volk" advertisement, he stepped off the UFC bus dressed in his old-age costume, and fans couldn't help but react to him going along with the joke.

After @SandhuMMA shared a clip of Volkanovski arriving at the arena for the presser, fans flocked to the comments section to express their thoughts.

One fan wrote:

"Genius way to hide an injury."

Another fan wrote:

"Feel like he'd make a decent actor."

Check out some more reactions below:

Screenshots from @SandhuMMA on X

---

Israel Adesanya predicts Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria at UFC 298

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya recently shared his thoughts on the Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria featherweight title fight. Given the Nigerian-born Kiwi's close relationship with the Australian, it's no surprise that he backed his friend and training partner to emerge victorious at UFC 298.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Adesanya broke down the fight and predicted that Volkanovski would get the job done in the championship rounds to retain the 145-pound strap. He said:

"Alexander 'The Great' Volkanovski. I'm going to go late stoppage, round four. Yeah, round four, KO or TKO. I think he's just going to exhaust him [Topuria]. It's different when you're in the championship rounds, but you have Alexander Volkanovski in your face."

Catch Israel Adesanya's comments below (12:44):

Volkanovski is coming off a first-round knockout loss against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in a lightweight title fight. Meanwhile, Topuria has a perfect 14-0 record and last defeated Josh Emmett via unanimous decision at UFC on ABC 5.