Alexander Volkanovski has admitted several massive changes to his training camp ahead of UFC 314.
Volkanovski headlines the UFC event in Miami next month against Brazil’s Diego Lopes, who is six years younger than the 36-year-old Australian.
The main event bout is for the UFC featherweight title, following former champion Ilia Topuria’s decision to vacate the 145lbs belt and move up to the lightweight division.
Volkanovski was knocked out by Topuria in his last UFC appearance in February 2024 after suffering the first KO defeat of his career to Islam Makhachev four months prior.
Several MMA fans believed the consecutive defeats marked the beginning of the end of Volkanovski’s stellar career
However, speaking to ESPN MMA, ‘The Great’ believes he will prove he still belongs in there with the very best after his longest period out of the Octagon since he joined the UFC.
“We did everything early,” Volkanovski said, describing the differences between his current training camp compared to when he fought Topuria.
“Everyone knows I bust my ass. I train hard. That’s always been something that I’ll always have and always do.
“But, I mean, I probably could have done some things better [before fighting Topuria].
“You know, my nutrition, maybe lay off the alcohol, stay away from the alcohol. I could have done better with my nutrition.
“I decided to do that this time, like 14 weeks out from the fight. No cheat meals, not even a cheat meal. And everyone knows I love my food.
“Not even a cheat meal because I’m like: ‘I want to bring that weight down’.
Alexander Volkanovski’s last five UFC fights
Bouncing back
Loss to Ilia Topuria via second-round KO at UFC 298 in February 2024 (dropped featherweight title)
Loss to Islam Makhachev via first-round KO at UFC 294 in October 2023 (lightweight title bout)
Win over Yair Rodriguez via third-round KO at UFC 290 in July 2023 (defended featherweight title)
Loss to Islam Makhachev via unanimous decision at UFC 284 in February 2023 (lightweight title bout)
Win over Max Holloway via unanimous decision at UFC 276 in July 2022 (defended featherweight title)
“I want to be moving fast. I want to feel sharp. I want to feel like me. I don’t want to wait until two weeks out from the fight and be like: ‘Alright, yeah, I feel sharp again’.
“But I had [Topuria’s] whole camp of me moving around like a slob. I didn’t want that. So, I was like, all right, we’ll get stuck into it.”
Volkanovski went undefeated in 12 UFC bouts from his debut with the promotion in November 2016 en route to winning the featherweight title.
He is just one of four fighters in UFC history to start 12 wins undefeated in the same amount of bouts with the promotion.
Only Anderson Silva, Kamaru Usman and Khabib Nurmagomedov have also accomplished that feat.
His first defeat came at the hands of Russia’s dominant lightweight champion, Makhachev, in an attempt to claim two-division title status.
‘The Great’ came close to achieving that feat at UFC 284 in February 2023, but fell to a unanimous decision defeat.
Volkanovski then proved he was still the greatest at featherweight by stopping Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, before losing to Makhachev again and Topuria.
The 36-year-old did, however, open up about doubting his ability after those defeats.
“I’m always honest with myself,” Volkanovski added. “So, I will always have the questions and I’ll just brush them off.
“Yeah, I’m coming off two losses, but that’s the longest break I’ve ever had.
“I even pulled back on the gym. For once in my life or for once in my career, I had my training schedule and fighting second, like after around my life, right?
“I trained around everything else. First time I’ve ever done that for 15 years. That was different for me. I’m not used to that.
“So, you are going to ask yourself: “Have you lost it? Like what’s going on here? You mustn’t want it anymore.
“No, not really. Because I remember I’ve accepted that I’m having the break. Or have you accepted that you’re done? No, I haven’t.
“I’ll be back. All right. I’ll flip the switch. Will you flip the switch? You will ask yourself these questions. But I would always answer myself, like relax.
“When the time comes, you’ll flip the switch. Don’t worry.”
Volkanovski has admitted that his time in MMA is limited, but still wants to win the featherweight title one more time.
The Aussie laid out a retirement plan last month that involved winning the belt, defending it once or twice and having one more big fight before potentially calling it a day.
Volkanovski’s opponent, Lopes, is on a five-fight winning streak in the UFC having secured two consecutive unanimous decision victories over Dan Ige and Ortega.
UFC 314 witnesses a blockbuster card, as Michael Chandler takes on Paddy Pimblett in a five-round co-main event in Miami.
Former two-division Bellator champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire makes his UFC debut on the main card too, while Geoff Neal faces Carlos Prates in a tasty welterweight affair.
