"That's not favorable for training performance" - Alexander Volkanovski's rapid change in weight classes could present issues, says nutritionist

UFC 290 is set to go down in just under two weeks’ time. In the event’s headliner, featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski will defend his title against interim champion Yair Rodriguez.

The bout will mark Volkanovski’s return to the octagon following his failed attempt to become a simultaneous double champion earlier this year.

‘Alexander the Great’ was defeated by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, suffering his first loss in the UFC in the process.

Alexander Volkanovski is expected to come into his fight with Rodriguez as a big favourite. However, could he end up suffering what would be a tremendous upset loss thanks to his quick change in weight classes?

One expert who seems concerned but still confident about the featherweight champion’s possible performance is nutritionist Jordi Sullivan.

Volkanovski recently posted a video to his YouTube channel detailing his cut back to 145 pounds after his move to 155 pounds just four months ago, and the nutritionist had the following to say:

“For this camp, Alex is going back down to 145 for the first time in 12 months to defend his featherweight title. We’re obviously coming off the back of the camp where he had to go up to 155 against Islam Makhachev. Now going up a weight class can present some interesting issues for fighters when they have to go back down to their original weight class. One of those issues is called body recomposition. What body recomposition is is when you can decrease the amount of muscle mass you have while increasing the amount of fat mass you have. That is not favourable for neither training performance nor cutting weight going back down to your original weight class.”

Later, though, Sullivan suggested that Volkanovski wouldn’t have any issues with this body recomposition:

“Thankfully for Alex, he has an exceptional strength and conditioning coach in Chris Jeffery, and we were able to plan the last four weeks of [the Makhachev] camp as well as the off-season period to make sure that bulk didn’t have any of that negative body recomposition. So when we started this camp to go back down to 145, Alex had very minimal change in his overall muscle mass and fat mass and we’re able to start his camp for featherweight where we normally do to ensure a smooth weight cut back to 145.”

Watch Jordi Sullivan discuss Alexander Volkanovski’s weight cut below.

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Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez: How has ‘Alexander the Great’ been training?

Alexander Volkanovski is now less than two weeks away from his featherweight title bout with interim champion Yair Rodriguez. From all reports, his training camp has gone well.

Recently, Volkanovski released a video of him training with UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, with ‘The Last Stylebender’ seemingly looking to replicate Rodriguez’s dangerous kicks.

A win would mean that Volkanovski would’ve defended his title successfully on five occasions, so what could be next for him?

Ilia Topuria, who is now seemingly positioned as the top contender at 145 pounds, is one option. However, Volkanovski himself has suggested that he’d like another crack at Islam Makhachev to “end the story."