“A lot of people think ‘Ah, it’s a no-lose situation,’ and I’m sick of hearing that phrase, no-lose situation,” Volkanovski said on Tuesday. “Obviously my legacy is on the line. I want this rematch, and I want this lightweight title. I need this win, and now I’ve got to do it on 12 days’ notice.
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“I’m never going to get this rematch again,” he added, acknowledging the very real possibility that if he goes down 0-2 to Makhachev, it could mean the end of his lightweight title pursuits. “This is gonna be the last chance I get at this lightweight title, and that’s why it’s not a no-lose situation.
“If I lose, I take a big hit and my legacy takes a big hit, that’s why I ain’t going in there like, ‘If I lose, who cares? No one is gonna care.’ There’s still a lot to lose for me, but the pressure is not on me, and I’m not letting there be pressure on me.”
The way Volkanovski sees it, the pressure resides squarely on the shoulders of Makhachev, who was originally scheduled to face off with Charles Oliveira in a very different rematch, but enters the contest with the benefit of a full training camp and coming off a victory in their first meeting back in February.
While some see his short-notice arrival in this championship pairing as a point against the 35-year-old Australian, Volkanovski himself acknowledged that he feels significantly fresher and in a much more singularly focused state of mind heading into his second go-round with Makhachev this year.
“It’s good to be coming into Fight Week so fresh and excited — I’m not drained, not exhausted,” offered the featherweight champion, who rebounded from his unanimous decision loss in the first bout of this series with a blistering third-round stoppage win over Yair Rodriguez to close out UFC 290 in July. “I’m absolutely buzzing and ready to enjoy the rest of the week, get in there, and do my thing.
“I’m always about preparation, but you’re always carrying injuries, niggles, and you’re exhausted mentally and physically from 8-12 weeks of getting yourself prepared. I’m always fit all year round — not like I’ve been in camp — but fit enough, and I’ve got this freshness.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been in this headspace or this mindset going into a fight,” he added. “It’s never been so clear on what I have to do. I can’t afford anything else but this, and I think this is going to make me very dangerous.”
No one is going to argue that taking a championship fight against someone as skilled, dangerous, and well-prepared as Makhachev on two weeks’ notice is the ideal way to face the lightweight champion, but under those circumstances, Volkanovski certainly profiles as the ideal man for the job.
Obviously, part of that stems from the fact that he just went toe-to-toe with the streaking Russian champion at UFC 284 in February, losing a competitive decision to Makhachev while surviving the majority of the fourth round with him locked on his back and then dropping him late in the fight to make things even closer.
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But the biggest part is how Volkanovski is wired — the way he thinks about his craft, approaches his craft, and makes adjustments and appreciable gains between each and every appearance.
Heading into his fight with Rodriguez in July, the featherweight ruler detailed how he constantly wants to make the mountain the challengers in the 145-pound weight class need to climb in order to knock him from the summit higher and higher, and then he went out and thoroughly out-classed the talented Mexican interim champion.
That mindset, that approach has helped make him one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, and he believes it will help him topple Makhachev this weekend.
“Because I’ve been climbing this mountain and I’ve been doing that forever, it makes me be able to deal with this situation I’m in right now,” said Volkanovski. “This isn’t just any regular person stepping in on short notice: this is a seasoned guy that has been professional for the last 12 years, who’s put the work in consistently, and that’s why you’re hearing me talk about how fresh all this is to me with my game planning and whatnot.
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“I don’t have big breaks in the gym; I’m constantly thinking about fighting. This is my life, this is what it’s all about to me, so I’m constantly playing that chess in my head when it comes to fighting.
“Me climbing that mountain all year round for the last 12 years has got me ready for this,” he continued. “This is meant to be. I don’t care about anything else right now. It’s like I’ve been saying: the world is spinning for me right now, and that’s all I’m focused on. That’s all that matters for last week and this week, and that’s why I’m gonna go out there and do my thing.
“It’s meant to be, and I’m the guy to get this done, and I can’t wait to show people that.”
Volkanovski isn’t a regular challenger and this isn’t a regular championship fight — he’s so much more than that and there is so much more attached to this matchup, which is why that idea of Saturday being a “no-lose situation” for him irks him so much.
There is a great deal for him to lose should he fall to Makhachev for a second time in 2023, but there is a great deal for him to gain, as well, and he’s here to chase down that big, big reward.
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“There’s this rivalry, there’s a bit of history with this rematch, and then the lightweight double champ, so it’s bigger than just double champ status,” said Volkanovski. “Look at the opponent that’s across from me: if I wasn’t around, I would think of him being champion for a very long time. That’s the type of legacy I feel he could have, but I’m about to ruin this party, and that just makes this so much bigger because people know how good he is, how good their team is, the style they have, and that adds to my legacy.
“This isn’t any double champ status — I think there is a bigger story there, and me doing this on 12 days’ notice and whatnot, there is a lot there that is going to add,” he added. „I know a lot of people are going to think that means a ‘no-lose situation’ — no, there is plenty to lose.
“It is high risk, but there is a very high reward here, and that’s what I’m chasing.”
