Joe Rogan and Sean O'Malley recently weighed in on the upcoming lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski.
O'Malley recalled Brian Ortega locking up Volkanovski in a lethal guillotine during their UFC 266 title clash in September last year:
"Remember how Ortega had Volk locked in a guillotine, that was insane?"
Volkanovski managed to scramble out of 'T-City's mounted guillotine and went on to score a unanimous decision win. Rogan speculated on the outcome of Makhachev catching 'The Great' in a similar position:
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"Now imagine of Islam had that. Imagine Islam in the same position."
Both O'Malley and Rogan agreed that Volkanovski might not be able to get out of Makhachev's grasp. They simultaneously said:
"You might not get out of that."
Complementing Makhachev's squeeze, Rogan further added:
"I think Islam has a next level otherwordly squeeze. It just seems like he gets a hold of these guys and they just can't do jacks**t."
Catch O'Malley and Rogan's comments below (1:47):
Rogan and O'Malley also noted that Makhachev will have a significant size advantage over Volkanovski, who is not even the biggest fighter at featherweight. However, they both agreed that 'The Great' could pose a serious threat to Makhachev on the feet early on.
The duo will square off in the main event of UFC 284 in Australia.
Alexander Volkanovski claims his escape of Brian Ortega's guillotine choke defines him as a person
Alexander Volkanovski was thoroughly outpointing Brian Ortega before 'T-City' caught him in a potentially fight-ending guillotine in the third round of their UFC 266 clash. Like the majority of fans and pundits, Ortega was also merely waiting for 'The Great' to tap.
However, the UFC featherweight champion miraculously escaped the submission and went on to outstrike Ortega to earn a dominant decision victory.
Watch the sequence below:
According to Alexander Volkanovski, people have to go no further than that escape to understand what he's all about. 'The Great' told SPORTbible Australia earlier this year:
“A good definition of what I’m about or who I am is obviously me in that guillotine. It’s a good indicator of what I pride myself on. If someone was to find a definition of me, they wouldn’t have to look up a definition, because they can go back and watch that footage of me in that guillotine and be like ‘this guy doesn’t give up’. It shows I have a never say die attitude.”