One of Alexander Volkanovski’s biggest UFC wins turned from a blessing to a curse due to fan backlash.
Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski looks to reclaim the throne this weekend at UFC 314. Volkanovski and Diego Lopes headline a stacked card at UFC 314, as the two featherweights compete for Ilia Topuria‘s vacated belt.
Volkanovski is looking to snap the first losing skid of his career after knockout defeats to Topuria and Islam Makhachev. After taking a full year away from the Octagon, Volkanovski seems rejuvenated and ready to make a statement.
Volkanovski is undoubtedly one of the UFC’s biggest stars. But during his ascent up the ladder, one of Volkanovski’s most important wins resulted in him being labeled unfairly as a villain by fans.
Alexander Volkanovski reveals ‘pretty nasty’ feedback after second win vs. Max Holloway
Volkanovski capped off a legendary run through the featherweight division with a title win over Max Holloway at UFC 245 by unanimous decision. He and Holloway rematched just months later at UFC 251, with the fight going to a split decision in Volkanovski’s favor.
Many fans and pundits believed Holloway deserved the win over Holloway at UFC 251, but the fight was highly competitive for five full rounds. After defending the title, Volkanovski went through one of the darkest times of his life as fans feasted on his controversial victory.
In a recent sitdown with TNT Sports, Volkanovski reflected on the aftermath of his win at UFC 251.
”That was a bad time in my life,” Volkanovski explained. “I’m a pretty chill, nice guy. Don’t try to offend anybody. And Max is very well loved…But I mean, everyone, you hear it all the time, everybody’s like, ‘robbery,’ every time there’s a close fight, everyone’s going to carry on that way. People can be, you know, pretty nasty with it. I wasn’t used to that at that stage.’
”It was hard. was hard. I was really struggling with it because again, I’m a nice guy and I’d never ever try to offend anybody. That’s just how I am. And for people to hate me just purely because of that I just didn’t know really how to take it.” (h/t SportsKeeda)
Volkanovski turned the tide in his trilogy with Holloway at UFC 276, putting on a virtuoso performance that eliminated doubt in his title reign. He dominated Holloway by unanimous decision and eventually earned the pound-for-pound No. 1 spot.
Alexander Volkanovski opens up on the mental health struggles after the second Max Holloway fight.
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Alexander Volkanovski admitted taking most recent fight was a ‘mistake’
Volkanovski regrets accepting his final featherweight title defense against Topuria at UFC 298. Just months after the brutal knockout defeat to Makhachev, Volkanovski cut back down to 145 lbs and was horrifically finished by the juggernaut Topuria.
After his long hiatus, Volkanovski is looking to reclaim the throne and further cement himself as an all-time great. But Volkanovski’s UFC 314 headliner nearly didn’t come to fruition as Volkanovski briefly considered retirement during his time away.
Now, Volkanovski is out for redemption as he looks to bounce back from the first losing streak of his MMA career. Win or lose this weekend, Volkanovski likely won’t face the hate he experienced following UFC 251.
