‘I’m Alex, who still fights’: Volkanovski returns to Abu Dhabi as UFC champion – and a changed man

Alexander Volkanovski makes his Abu Dhabi return on October 24 as the headline bout of UFC 333.

He returns as champion, putting his featherweight title on the line against Movsar Evloev, the Russian who boasts a perfect 20-0 record in professional MMA.

“I've had a nice long camp; dieting hard, training hard. It's going to be a great card. Obviously, it's a stacked card, so I can see why everyone's getting excited for it. I cannot wait to get out there and do my thing,” Volkanovski tells The National from his base in Wollongong, New South Wales.

UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi: How do Volkanovski-Evloev and Yan-Dvalishvili match up?

This will be Volkanovski's fourth visit to Abu Dhabi during a 32-fight career (28-4). The second of his three fights with Max Holloway took place here, albeit behind closed doors, as Abu Dhabi hosted UFC 251 during the coronavirus pandemic. He has fond memories of the place.

“Yeah, I've been there a few times now … Always get a good reception, always treated very well over there. It's gonna be good to be over there and do our thing, you know, put on a show for everyone.”

There are some not-so-fond ones too. His last visit to the UAE capital three years ago was memorable for the wrong reasons.

He took a rematch with Islam Makhachev on short notice. He got the call after Makhachev's original opponent for UFC 294, Charles Oliveira, withdrew due to injury. Volkanovski later revealed he had to shed 26.5lbs in 11 days to make the 155lb lightweight limit.

It proved a mountain too high for the Australian. The fight was over inside the first round as the Dagestani executed a high kick that altered Volkanovski's equilibrium before the referee spared him any more punishment.

Does he have any regrets about taking the fight on such short notice? “Nah, man, not really. I don't regret it. That's a part of who I am, you know? If I take that back, I'm taking a big chunk of myself back, and I wouldn't be the fighter or the champion I am if I didn't have that,” he says.

“[Being] That guy that isn't scared of nobody, that'll take on any challenges, the same guy that turns up in the gym every single time, every single day. So that's my mindset. That's my mentality, and that's what's brought me to where I am today. So I wouldn't change a thing.”

UFC 294 – in pictures

Volkanovski gave an emotional speech in his post-fight press conference, saying he “needed a fight” to help him deal with his mental struggles.

It was hard not to feel for Volkanovski that night. When you have a warrior's mentality, making yourself vulnerable in the most macho of endeavours is one few are brave enough to do.

Reflecting on that loss, Volkanovski said it was important for fighters to talk about their struggles. For him, opening up was ultimately a positive experience and one that helped him better understand himself.

I asked him if perhaps the two are symbiotic, that to take care of his mental well-being, Volkanovski needed to be in constant fight mode, whether in camp or in the octagon.

“People talk about the fighter's identity, right? Like, so when you're just that dialled in, you just got this tunnel vision of, you know, being the best fighter you can," he said.

"Even though I just didn't know how to handle it at the time, now I do. Now I end up having the big break after [fights], and then I got to work a lot on myself, and you know, be Alex again.”

How does he feel now? “Now I feel like I'm Alex, who still fights,” he said. “It was just a sort of a vulnerable time, which I'm glad people have seen. I think it's important.

"It's important for young athletes to understand that, you know? If you want to sacrifice everything and be disciplined and you have that tunnel vision to achieve those goals, you might lose a little bit of yourself through that process, but you'll be all right at the end of the day.

“At the end, as long as we can understand that, it's like 'All right, this is normal.' Maybe while you're going through that process, be a little careful. Make sure we still got some time for this and that.”

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Following that defeat to Makhachev, Volkanovski put his featherweight championship on the line against the division's rising star, Ilia Topuria, just four months later. He ended up on the receiving end of a lethal combination that ended his title reign.

Many had written him off, believing back-to-back brutal knockouts would only diminish Volkanovski’s durability and mental acuity.

This time, though, Volkanovski listened to his body and his inner voice. The 14 months off were well spent. A reset saw him return to the octagon with two flawless performances against Diego Lopes.

The first saw him reclaim the featherweight title. The second saw him defend it.

Both fights went the five-round distance. Volkanovski displayed his mastery of striking, distance management, his ability to engage, unload, and move out of danger. He looked back to his best.

Given his previous admission about struggling when not competing, I ask Volkanovski how he managed his downtime between losing to Topuria and beating Lopes.

“Spend a lot of time with the family, watching the kids' sports. I love doing that. That's actually real good downtime for me,” he said.

“The break was unreal. Like I said, it was not only good for me to recover properly, but even for me to, you know, find myself again, be myself, be Alex for a while. And then that comes with so many good experiences: quality time with the family … so I feel like having that time off was very good in all aspects for everything, for my fighting, and then for just me personally.”

Downtime also means spending time indulging in another of his passions: cooking.

Volkanovski is a man who loves his food. His channel “Cookin' with Volk” has over 2.25 million subscribers across Instagram and YouTube.

As you would expect of any self-respecting Aussie, Volk loves to grill. “Pretty much anything on the barbecue, especially on the charcoal outside on an open fire. Because it's not just the food; it's the experience that comes with it,” he said.

“You're usually with friends and family … when you get nice seasoned meats or whatever you're cooking on that grill, it's always impressive. It's always a good experience that comes with it.”

Fighter, champion and now aspiring chef. “Some of the stuff we do when we are cooking can sometimes feel a little bit like work, but not really,” he added.

“But then I get to enjoy a lot of it as well. I get to go and hang out with chefs, and they teach you how to eat and prepare some really good food. So that's cool.

"I'm still building my brand, and you could still look at it as work, but it doesn't feel like work. It feels like downtime, pretty much. So I'm pretty lucky to be in that position.”

The position Volkanovski is perhaps most familiar with is having his hand raised in victory. His bout against Evloev will be his sixth title defence across his two reigns as champion.

Evloev, an elite wrestler, opted to change tack in his last fight, electing to fight Lerone Murphy on the feet for the most part. The Russian was deducted a point in Round 4, but still did enough to take a majority decision.

Was Volkanovski surprised by the change of Evloev's approach? “I guess it didn't surprise me,” he said. “I could see that he probably felt the pressure of trying to be more exciting. So he tried to stand.

“He was able to get the win anyway, but you could clearly see that if he wanted to go the normal path and grapple, he would have had a lot of success and made that fight a lot easier for him.

“But he clearly showed he was a better fighter. I said straight after that fight, 'Look, don't try to be exciting. You just make sure you bring your best game.' I don't want excuses if things don't go your way, like I should have wrestled more and this and that. You don't need to worry about that. We'll make this fight exciting. People want to see how I handle that wrestling anyway. I think that's a part of the story.”

For Volkanovski, the challenge now is to prove that the fighter who returns to Abu Dhabi is not simply the same man who left it three years ago. He is a champion again, more comfortable with who he is away from the octagon and, at 38, perhaps more complete than ever.

‘I’m Alex, who still fights’: Volkanovski returns to Abu Dhabi as UFC champion – and a changed man

After a difficult period that forced him to confront his mental health, the Australian has found a new balance through family, downtime and his passion for cooking

UFC 294 – in pictures