UFC 280: Alexander Volkanovski 1-on-1 with Kevin Iole
Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole interviews UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who will serve as the backup fighter to the lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 280. Volkanovski talks about his new status as the UFC's No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, previews the Oliveira-Makhachev fight and his approach to training for his backup role.
Video Transcript
[AUDIO LOGO]
KEVIN IOLE: Hey, folks. I am Kevin Iole. Welcome to Yahoo Sports. UFC 280 on Saturday, October 22 in Abu Dhabi. My next guest is a world champion. I'm sure you know him, but it's my first time getting to introduce him as the pound for pound number one fighter in the world, Alex Volkanovski. Volk, how are you, my friend?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: I'm very good, mate. I'm very good.
KEVIN IOLE: That must sound pretty good to hear, huh?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: So yeah, appreciate that, mate. It is, it is, you know what I mean? You know, it doesn't make me any different, you know what I mean? I'm still the same guy I was, but it does sound cool, you know what I mean? It sounds cool, and obviously I'm honored to have that as well.
But I mean, at the same time, it ain't getting into my head, you know what I mean, so. Which is a good thing, you know what I mean? The last thing we want to do is think that we're too cool for school, you know that saying, you know what I mean?
And again, like, which I'm not. I'm still the same guy I was. I'm always going to be the guy that's hungry to do what he needs to do, so I won't let it get to my head.
KEVIN IOLE: Your streak has just been incredible. Over 20 wins in a row. What you've done has been amazing. And the reason I'm talking to you this week is you've been making a lot of noise about wanting to fight for the lightweight title.
A little controversy, so I want to get you to clear this up. You tweeted out that you are going to be the backup fighter for the fantastic lightweight championship fight next week between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Beneil Dariush then came out and said he thought he was the backup fighter. He's fighting Mateusz Gamrot. So from your standpoint, what do you know about that?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: Oh, well, yeah, I don't know from his point, but I mean, I am the backup fighter. Like, I know I am. Like, I'm flying my corner. Like, we've got our flights, we've got everything we need to-- you know what I mean? So everything's already happening.
So I'm getting paid to jump on that scale, so like, it's pretty clear that I'm obviously the backup. You know, I'm sure maybe he did get told that by someone. Maybe the person that told him that did get told that before they knew I was locked in, you know what I mean? And they just haven't had that conversation.
But I think he should just worry about Gamrot. Gamrot's no joke. He's obviously a big, big fight for him. And hopefully he's not overlooking him.
Look, I like Dariush, you know? I'm not-- I'm not sitting here going, ah, you know-- you know what I mean? Obviously I'm putting myself in this position so no one else takes it away from me. But again, you know, it's just-- yeah, but nothing against the guy, but yeah, I'm on the backup guy, and it's as simple as that.
KEVIN IOLE: OK. That's how I thought it was, but I just wanted to hear it from you. You know, let's start with this. This is the weird thing. You mentioned you're getting paid to make weight, right? I think most fans would hope you're not getting paid to fight, right? Because they want to see you fight after a full training camp and everybody prepare for you and that nothing happens between Charles and Islam.
But first of all, how does that work pay wise? I mean, are you-- do you get a set sum, like, if you make weight and then a bigger sum if you fight, or how does that work?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: Oh, obviously if you fight it's going to be a normal contract, right? But I mean, there's a chance of that fight not happening. So for me, this is a commitment, you know what I mean?
Like, when I told them I wanted to do this-- see, a lot of people because I just announced it a couple of days ago, they feel like I'm just all of a sudden training now. But I mean, I've been training. You know, I'm the type of guy that if I've got-- I've been saying that I wanted to do this, so I had that in my head.
So I was training since then. I was training as if I could be back up even when I was in the cast. I was on the bike. I was on the walk bike. I was on the [INAUDIBLE]. You know, I was doing strength and conditioning. I was making sure that I was still in-- still doing enough to get me in a decent enough position to do a camp as soon as I can.
So again, that's just how I am. I'm disciplined. I'm professional. I'm-- that's the type of guy I am. So it wasn't locked in then, but I always had the idea. I told him I was going to do it, be like, ah, we'll see. And then we started getting closer and closer, and I was letting them know.
And then they said they wanted the clearance. I got the doctor to give me a clearance. That was, like, over a month ago. So I've been training for-- you know, I think I got the clearance like six weeks ago. I would have got the clearance as in telling them that I'll be OK for--
KEVIN IOLE: Contact and whatnot.
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: Yeah, for a fight, you know what I mean? By that time. Obviously I pretty much just got out of a cast then, but the doctor said, you know, couple of weeks I'll be happy enough with your bone. You could go full contact, but I mean, you would definitely be cleared by then.
So I told them, said, hey, man, I've been able to punch as hard as I wanted with this hand for about four weeks now. So I've been doing the work, you know what I mean? Again, and even when I couldn't punch with this, I was still doing everything else.
KEVIN IOLE: That's why I think you're the best in the world because of what you do between fights. But--
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: I can't use my left hand? I can't use my left hand? I'll use my [MUTED] right. It's that simple. Excuse my French. Sorry.
KEVIN IOLE: It seems-- seems pretty logical when you put it that way. Yeah, I guess the one thing, you know, broken bone or whatever is you shouldn't have any long term issues with it. But do you-- do you feel it the day after you punch, you know, since you've taken the cast off?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: Oh, like, you know, it gets a little tender here and there, but I mean, that's fine. To be honest, the both my thumbs are pretty tender anyway, so it's not a big deal. I have-- I've broke this same-- not this one. This is the first time I broke that hand. But I've broken the exact same one twice on this hand. So I've had three of the same surgeries.
KEVIN IOLE: So you know.
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: So you know, I'm-- yeah, so I know-- I know how it is. And like, obviously, yeah, it's-- you know, when you haven't moved it for so long, it takes a while. It stays stiff. There's a lot of scar tissue and all that. Gets uncomfortable.
But as long as I'm able to train, I'm happy, you know what I mean? I don't care about the pain. If someone tells me you're not doing any damage, I don't care how much it hurts.
KEVIN IOLE: So are you one of the fighters that makes specific game plans for different opponents or do you just kind of get yourself ready and let them adjust to you? Because you're in that funny spot, like, do you, you know-- what do you do? Do you come up with two game plans? So how does that work for you as you're doing this backup thing?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: Man, like, it's funny because a lot of people would be like, wow, you know what I mean? Like, how are you going to do that? It's like, I'm doing it every day, like, you know I mean? Every day I'm like-- you know, Joe's on pads, and then I'm working the strategy, I'm working a game plan.
And I'm even getting training partners mid-round while we're sparring changing the looks from an Islam look to a Charles look, you know? I can just do it on the fly. It's just-- that's just how I am, man. And I've proved that in my fights that I can make adjustments, especially right now with the understanding that I have of the game, you know what I mean?
Again, my coaches have done such a great job to give me the understanding of this game, and my style, and all that where now, like, you know, it's like-- it's like you say reading people like a book. I read them like a picture book, you know what I mean? Like, I don't even have to read it out loud. I can just see it and that's it. That's just how it is for me.
Like, they do this? All right. This is my go to. This is-- because again, my style covers a lot of ground. I know where I need to be. I know where I shouldn't be all the time. If you're a southpaw, if you're orthodox style, I know this stuff so well that you do this, you do a certain look in front of me, I'm just going to adapt and know where I need to be and where I shouldn't be.
Obviously with Islam you're going to be worrying about wrestling, so I'm going to need to do a couple of other things with Charles. There's a certain style that he does on his feet. He's Orthodox. He's a little more upright. There's a few other things. But I mean, again, straight away, I know, all right, well, he does that because he does this. He leaves these openings.
I just this sort of stuff and being able to just drill it and game plan in the gym. it's just obviously that adds to it. But I mean, if they were to surprise me on the day, I would adapt anyway. But I mean, we're lucky enough to have a good team around us that are working good game plans, and we're ready to capitalize on some of these things that these guys do if need be.
KEVIN IOLE: I know you love the sport and you're watching. You often tweet during the fights and everything, so you're a good person to ask, notwithstanding the fact that you're training for both of these guys. How do you break the fight down? I mean, you know, Charles has that striking that some people suspect that Islam doesn't have. And I think maybe that's a bias because Islam got knocked out once a few years ago.
Obviously Islam has that unbelievable wrestling. And you know, he said to me today, nobody beats Dagestani wrestlers, right? So how do you break down that match between them? What are Charles's advantages and what are Islam's advantages?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: I don't think Charles would be that scared of him on the ground, which is probably a really good thing for Charles. I do believe Islam controls Charles, though. I think, you know, the wrestling will be the factor.
But the fact that, you know, Charles will invite him going to the ground and try and wrap things up as he's going to the ground, you know, he ain't going to be so scared, oh, I need to get away and then put himself in positions where Islam can climb him and then just control him and have him on the bottom and keep him so jammed that he can't move.
I think as he's taking him down, he's the type of guy to jump on submission, jump on his back to pull guard, which is where he's going to be dangerous. I guarantee you, this here's a good example, if Charles falls to the mat and he's on his back ready to pull guard, I don't know if Islam goes in there.
KEVIN IOLE: Really?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: I don't know if Islam is going to approach the ground that way. I think he would rather Charles get up, grab a hold of Charles, and bring him down so when he goes him down he's in control of the legs, the hips, controlling all that type of stuff so he can't throw up all these, you know, won't even give him a chance to throw up crazy stuff.
So that's where I believe he is. Like, that's sort of what I'm trying to go with. But I think that, Islam, you know, once he grabs a hold of him, he will have the control. But I mean, I know that Charles is the type of guy, the fact that he's not scared, he will throw as soon as he grabs a hold of him. He will fall back, be happy to fall on his back to grab guillotines, to go for triangles, to attack the legs. And I think that's going to be a little more stressful for Islam.
Islam grabs the leg, climbs in brings him down, different story. So again, so that's what makes it very interesting--
KEVIN IOLE: How much--
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: --is the fact that he will swing-- because Charles will swing and won't be that scared, I think he's going to be a little bit more effective on the feet because he goes, all right, you want to jump in, I'm jumping for some crazy [MUTED], and I'm going to try to get you submitted anyway.
So I'm throwing 100% if I land good. If I don't, I'll try and get that submission. I think that is where Charles can be very dangerous for someone like Islam. But if Islam grabs a hold of him, I feel like Islam will be able to control him and see that round out.
KEVIN IOLE: What impact do you think it will have, Alex, the fact that Charles has been able to get himself out of so many bad situations? Kind of like you did against Ortega. You did it at the end of the fight. But you think of Charles against Dustin Poirier, you know, he turned the fight around. Gaethje, you know, he did that. Even Tony Ferguson had him deep in that armbar and he got out and came back and won that fight.
Does that put something as a fighter-- when you know that about a guy, does that put something in your head and does that affect the way you approach him?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: No, I look at it a bit more technically than that. Like, you know, there's a lot more details to that. A lot of people see that, like, oh, he got hurt. And then he'll get hit, he'll go to his back, and then he could settle, be like this, come on. And a lot of the guys were like, I ain't having any piece of that, you know what I mean? And then, like, give him time to recover.
But again, you know, I look at that like you have-- which it's very exciting. You watch that fight, like, you know, you had these guys dropping each other. You know, that's because they like to stand in front of bang, you know? But that's not me, you know? I'm the type of guy that I want to hit you and not give you a chance to hit me. So I don't see myself in them situations.
You know, I ain't just going to go there and swing, and I might land and you might land. That's not how I roll. I would land and not give you a chance at the same time, you know what I mean? That's how I play.
So I don't see myself that way, you know? I do think he showed that he can get through adversity, but again, I'm-- I look at-- I look at it a bit more technically, where I would approach things a little bit different than a lot of people.
KEVIN IOLE: Got it.
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: So if I have someone in there that type of adversity, I'm not going to put myself in danger. To be honest, with someone like Charles, if I go in and he pulls guard, you can guarantee that I'm going to go there. I'm going to punch his head for the canvas, you know what I mean? Like, you know, like I did with Ortega.
You know, I might not be as careless as I was with Ortega, but I mean, I'll definitely-- you know, I ain't going to be that scared of it. There's-- I'll have an MMA approach to how I approach. If I have Charles hurt, like, I definitely can see myself capitalizing on that and doing something about it without taking too many risks.
KEVIN IOLE: Very quickly, I've taken up enough of your time, so one last question. Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira are fighting November 12 in New York. Any early looks at how Israel's looking in camp preparing for a guy that's been a tough opponent for him, beat him once-- or beat him twice and knocked him out once?
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: Yeah, haven't been at City because I've been at Freestyle the whole time, so haven't been past there. So I haven't seen. But I mean, I've been talking to the boys and he's on. He's always on, but I mean, he's on.
I think there's definitely some fire there, you know what I mean? He's very excited for this one, which has obviously given him this whole new hunger. I think the hunger was always there. The work was always put in there, but now it's not just doing the work, it's while I'm doing the work, making sure I perform and making sure I am sticking to my guns, not-- you know what I mean? Like, there's that little bit of more fire there.
So he's doing the work, he's always done the work, but now there's that little bit more. It's like, he's not happy with just-- again, we put ourselves through a lot, you know? Our training camps aren't easy at all.
But I mean, to the fact that he is getting through that and having that extra touch of like, I need to get this guy. I'm going to fix this bloke up, you know what I mean?
So I think, yeah, the boys are saying he is looking incredible and they can see that he is-- he's on. He is on at the moment. So I'm looking forward to this. And I can see Izzy looking really, really good in this one. So I can't wait.
KEVIN IOLE: Awesome. The pound for pound best fighter in the world, Alex Volkanovski. He is the backup fighter for UFC 280. We will see him if not on the 22nd, somewhere soon after that. Alex, thanks so much, my friend.
ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI: Thank you, man. I appreciate it.