MMA fighter Vartanyan called Volkanovski’s only chance in a fight with Makhachev

Mixed style fighter (MMA) Eduard Vartyanyan called the only chance of Australian Alexander Volkanovski to win a fight with Russian Islam Makhachev. The athlete spoke out in an interview with Lenta.ru.

“I think Volkanovski only agreed to this fight because he weighs a little to begin with. He has one task – to make weight. Volkanovski’s only chance is Islam’s mistake. I didn’t understand what the point was when the Pole Mariusz Gamrot was considered the reserve fighter for this fight. He went through training camp and was ready.

Although from the point of view of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), everything is clear. In the first fight, Volkanovski showed a good level of resistance, and as if fans and experts still had questions about who was stronger. Although in fact, Islam was better. I don’t believe that Dana White had any unspoken agreements with Volkanovski in advance regarding the replacement. Otherwise Alex would have been getting ready instead of drinking beer. In my opinion, it would be much more interesting if the UFC immediately announced that Volkanovski would be the reserve for this fight, having prepared the audience in advance,” Vartanyan said.

The fight between Makhachev and Volkanovski as part of the UFC 294 tournament will take place on October 21 in Abu Dhabi. The main card starts at 21.00 Moscow time. Five fights will take place this evening, Makhachev and Volkanovski will be the last to enter the octagon. In this fight, the Russian will defend the UFC lightweight champion title.

In total, the 31-year-old Russian had 25 fights in his career, in which he won 24 victories and was defeated only once. The 35-year-old Volkanovski has 26 wins and two losses.