He came up short in his late-notice bid to become a two-weight UFC champion, but Alexander Volkanovski remains the main man in the featherweight division.
Having narrowly lost to Islam Makhachev via decision in Perth at UFC 284 earlier this year, Volkanovski accepted a call to replace the injured Charles Oliveira for a second shot at Makhachev in Abu Dhabi.
Unfortunately for the Australian, this time he was well beaten as Makhachev landed a head kick in the first round to drop Volkanovski and pounce on him to force the finish.
The 35-year-old NSW native will now defend his featherweight crown in the early months of 2024 against an undefeated opponent.
MORE: Volkanovski explains why he lost to Islam Makhachev
Alexander Volkanovski’s next fight
UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski will defend his title against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on February 17 (February 18 in Australia) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Prior to agreeing to take on Makhachev on less than two weeks’ notice, Volkanovski had been set to defend his 145-pound title against Ilia Topuria at UFC 297 in Toronto in January.
An emotional Volkanovski revealed his recent struggles with mental health and highlighted activity and competition as a way to counter it.
“It really is hard for athletes and I never thought I’d struggle with it, but for some reason when I wasn’t fighting or in camp… f***, sorry, I was just doing my head in,” Volkanovski told reporters.
“When this opportunity came up, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t training as much as I should have, but I thought I had to do it. I had to take it.
“I was telling myself it was meant to be. I was struggling a little bit, not fighting. Just doing my head in. And I don’t know how, because everything’s fine, I have a beautiful family.
“I need to keep busy, I need to be in camp otherwise I do my head in. I’ll leave it at that.”
Would he be ready to fight in the early stages of next year?
Several days after his loss to Makhachev, Volkanovski posted a video to his Youtube channel in which he insisted he'd be good to go early next year.
“I’m in my prime. I need a fight,” Volkanovski told his fans.
“A lot of people are going, ‘He needs a break, he needs a break.’
“I don’t need a break, I want to get back in camp.
“Obviously I need to talk to doctors, make sure there’s no concussion.
“There’s stitches and whatnot but I want to get in camp.
“I’m the best version of myself, in and out of the cage, when I have clear direction and clear direction is me having a fight and I think January still looks great for me.”
For what it’s worth, Makhachev believed Volkanovski ought to take some time to recover from his first stoppage loss in more than a decade.
“No, January he cannot [fight],” Makhachev said following the rematch.
“He has a big cut on his eye and he missed a very good kick, that’s why he has to take some rest, 100 per cent.
“If his team are smart, he has to take a couple months’ rest.
“This is not like a choke or body kick, this is a head kick. His team has to make decision.”
Who will Alexander Volkanovski fight next?
Volkanovski will face Ilia Topuria (14-0) in the main event of UFC 298 in February for the featherweight title.
Can El Matador become the first man to defeat Volkanovski at 145-lb?