“Respect for accepting the fight on short notice, but don’t use that as an excuse after the fight,” the Russian wrote on social media, addressing his opponent.
For Makhachev, the fight with Volkanovski will be an immediate rematch – in February of this year, the Russian fighter successfully defended his title by defeating the Australian by unanimous decision at UFC 284 in Perth. The reigning UFC featherweight champion had one more fight after that, defeating Yair Rodriguez early in a unification bout, and the Russian did not return to the octagon.
Recall that the UFC 294 tournament will take place on October 21 in Abu Dhabi.