"I've carried that through" - Alexander Volkanovski speaks about how loss to Islam Makhachev brought permanent changes in training regime

UFC featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski locked horns with Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia. The bout was a razor-close affair where both athletes gave it their all for 25 minutes. In the end, Makhachev got his hand raised via unanimous decision. The three judges scored the bout 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in favor of the Dagestani.

Volkanovski has now shed light on how the loss against Makhachev has impacted his training in the gym. 'The Great' recently uploaded a video to his YouTube channel where he shared that the defeat helped him grow as an athlete. Volkanovski added that he implemented the learnings from that encounter in his fight against Yair Rodriguez and continues to do so in training even today:

"That fight [against Makhachev] made me a better fighter anyway. Honestly, like my training after that, my takedown defense, my scrambling ability, the way I understand the ground... I've learned so much from that fight and I've carried that through obviously my last camp and I've carried that through even while I've been training after my last fight as well."

Check out Volkanovski's comments from the 4:20 mark below:

Alexander Volkanovski will get a chance to avenge his loss to Islam Makhachev in a rematch against the Dagestani at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi. Makhachev was originally supposed to fight Charles Oliveira for the title but 'do Bronx' had to withdraw due to an injury.

This led to 'The Great' stepping in on short notice for his second attempt at claiming the champ-champ status in the UFC.

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Islam Makhachev sends a message to Alexander Volkanovski ahead of UFC 294

MMA fans have been praising Alexander Volkanovski for accepting such a challenging fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. The people commending Volkanovski include the lightweight champion himself.

Makhachev uploaded a post to his X account where he expressed his respect for 'The Great' for stepping up on short notice. But the Dagestani also warned Volkanovski not to use it as an excuse if the Australian ends up on the losing side.

"Respect for taking this fight on short notice Alex, but don’t use it as an excuse after the fight."