Alexander Volkanovski is not feeling any pressure ahead of UFC 294: “If anyone can do this on 12 day’s notice it’s me”

Alexander Volkanovski is not feeling any pressure ahead of UFC 294.

UFC 294 takes place on Saturday, October 21st at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The lightweight main event title fight will feature Alexander Volkanovski  (26-2 MMA) going up against Islam Makhachev (24-1 MMA) for a second time.

Originally Makhachev was to have fought Charles Oliveira (34-9 MMA), but ‘do Bronx’ pulled out of the fight earlier this week due to a deep cut he suffered during training.

Makhachev, 31, has only 1 loss in his professional career, which came way back in 2015 when he was defeated by TKO thanks to Adriano Martins (28-12 MMA) at UFC 192.

Volkanovski, 35, has only 2 losses in his professional career. The UFC featherweight champion is looking to upset Makhachev and become a dual-division champion on October 21st.

Volkanovski stepped in with only 12 days notice to take on Makhachev. It will be the 2nd meeting of the two fighters. They originally met back in February of this year at UFC 284, where it was Makhachev claiming victory by unanimous decision.

‘ESPN MMA’ posted a picture of Volkanovski and Makhachev to ‘X‘ with the caption:

Volk isn't feeling any pressure entering #UFC294 😤 pic.twitter.com/HMt9iuUP0V

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 13, 2023

“If anyone can do this on 12 days’ notice… it’s me … All the pressure is on him. I’m coming off the couch.”

“Alex Volkanovski on his rematch against Islam Makhachev via YouTube”

Volkanovski shared on his YouTube channel his thoughts heading into the rematch:

“We were told about Charles pulling out and needing a backup. They hit me up yesterday, we said, obviously, alright, let’s do it. Obviously, did the negotiations, they did that, I just said, ‘Yeah. Make sure it’s worth it (laughs),’ and let’s do it.”

“This is obviously a pretty crazy thing to do. There’s not many fighters out there who probably would do this, especially in my position, but you know I always say that I will do these things, I am that guy that will do anytime, anywhere, any weight, whatever it is. This is just an opportunity to prove that once again, against a tough game opponent.”

“If anyone can do this in 12 days notice, off the couch, as they would say – it’s me.”

‘The Great’ while currently the underdog heading into UFC 294, is apparently not worried about and is looking forward to his rematch with Makhachev.

Will you be watching? Do you think Volkanovski can defeat Makhachev to become a UFC dual-champion?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!