“I think in the first fight, Islam probably underestimated the guy,” the American said in a video posted on his Youtube channel. “He took him a little lightly because he was expecting to be able to finish him. Because of that, he acted too aggressive at the beginning of the fight. You know how Islam usually fights, but then he thought he was going to finish Alex because he’s smaller and was surprised by how good Volkanovski was. I don’t think that will happen again this time.”
Last week, the Australian agreed on short notice to replace the injured Charles Oliveira and face the reigning UFC lightweight champion on Oct. 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.
“If there’s anyone who will be in shape and ready to make a five-round title fight on ten days notice, it’s Aleksander Volkanovski. He’s the best fighter in the world regardless of weight and a dominant champion in the welterweight division. He had a lot of successful moments in his first fight with Islam, so he’s very confident after what he was able to do. Also, he always said he would be on standby in case something happened. I think with this substitution the tournament will sell even more pay-per-views because people were interested in the rematch between Makhachev and Volkanovski”