Islam Makhachev said that Alexander Volkanovski took the fight with him for money
Russian champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Islam Makhachev spoke about changing his opponent from Brazilian Charles Oliveira to Australian Alexander Volkanovski in the title fight. The athlete’s words are quoted by the ESPN MMA YouTube channel.
“I think he got a call from the UFC and what he heard was, ‘Hey, we’ve got some good money for you. Just take this fight.’ That’s all,” said Makhachev, emphasizing that he respects Volkanovski for the fact that the Australian accepted this fight.
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On October 11, it became known that Oliveira withdrew from the fight against the Russian due to injury. He said he suffered a serious cut to his eyebrow and needed nine stitches. After this, UFC head Dana White announced that he would be replaced by featherweight belt holder Volkanovski in the fight on October 21.
Volkanovski and Makhachev already met in the Octagon in February 2023. Then the Russian won by unanimous decision.
In total, the 31-year-old Russian had 25 fights in his career, in which he scored 24 victories and suffered 1 defeat. The 35-year-old Volkanovski has 26 wins and 2 losses.
Source: Lenta
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