Alexander Volkanovski | Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Alexander Volkanovski has regrets about how his first featherweight title reign ended.

Through the first 11 years of his career, Volkanovski had never lost a fight at 145 pounds, a run of success that included five straight UFC championship defenses. That streak ended at UFC 298 in February 2024, when Ilia Topuria knocked Volkanovski out cold to claim his belt.

Following the devastating knockout loss, some fans wondered whether Volkanovski rushed back to action too soon after being knocked out by an Islam Makhachev head kick at UFC 294 just four months prior. Volkanovski was challenging Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title a second time after jumping in as a fight week replacement for an injured Charles Oliveira.

Looking back, Volkanovski knows he shouldn’t have been so eager to rush back into the octagon.

“I had a decent concussion from Islam,” Volkanovski said on Demetrious Johnson’s MightyCast. “I feel like I had more of a concussion from the Islam one. Even though I was knocked out longer with Ilia, I had a lot more of the symptoms with the Islam one. … So I didn’t have head contact [training afterward], but then when you’re easing into it, now you’re easing into it, making sure you’re not getting hit. Trying to put yourself in safer positions and you even start camp wrong. I should have had the break.”

Whether it was because his chin was diminished or the concussion threw off his training, Volkanovski’s fight with Topuria ended in disaster. “El Matador” caught Volkanovski in the second round and put him down for the count, becoming just the third fighter to hand Volkanovski a loss via strikes in 30 pro bouts.

Volkanovski doesn’t blame anyone but himself for the unwise turnaround. He was convinced fighting again as soon as possible was the best option, a thought process he also had when he stepped in on short notice to fight Makhachev the second time.

“I can accept the situation and I’ll tell myself to make it work even though it’s probably not going to,” Volkanovski said. “I’m telling you, I went in there [ahead of the Makhachev rematch] going I’m going to be more dangerous now because I’m at 11 days. I literally told myself that. … I’m literally like, ‘This is the most dangerous you’ve seen me.’ I’m not beating him by decision, I have to go, I’m going to have to be more aggressive, I’m going to take more risks, and I literally believed it.”

Since that loss, Volkanovski has had the good fortune of competing for the featherweight championship again with Topuria vacating the title to chase gold at lightweight. Volkanovski became a two-time champion when he defeated Diego Lopes at UFC 314 for the vacant belt, while Topuria completed his quest to become a two-division champion with a stunning knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317.

Whether Volkanovski will be more cautious with his bookings going forward is anyone’s guess, but he now knows how costly his temerity can be.

“Even with the quick turnaround against Ilia, no one could have told me any different,” Volkanovski said. “Everyone’s like, ‘What are you doing? You should be having a big break? It’s going to affect your confidence.’ I’m like, ‘Bullshit. No. No. I ain’t having it.’”

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EXIT POLL

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