In nine days, Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev will face off against the undefeated Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski. Today they faced off on Daniel Cormier's podcast. Cormier asked Islam why he believes he is going to win and he responded by saying "Australia doesn't have wrestling." Contrary to Makhachev's belief, Volkanovski grew up training wrestling and won two national championships at the age of twelve. Volk did inform Islam of this as well. However, I'm sure Islam knows Australia practices the sport of wrestling. It just isn't quite the same as the way Dagestan practices wrestling, also known as sambo.
Sambo is a far superior style of wrestling deriving from Judo in Dagestan in the 1920s. The martial art has been made popular by Khabib bringing it to the UFC. No one outside of fighters from Dagestan trains sambo. American wrestling has been proven time and again to not be able to stack up against sambo. Volk is not an American though. His roots are Greco-Roman wrestling which slightly differs from what Americans grow up with.
I still don't think Volk stands a chance against Makhachev, to be honest. Even without Khabib coaching in his corner. Although if Volk can dethrone the immovable object of Makhachev I will laugh because if Volk wins it means he was able to defend Islam's sambo while being an "Australian who doesn't have wrestling." Islam is very good, but his cockiness could be his own demise and he has to fight his first title defense on his own this time. He hasn't fought with Khabib outside of his corner in 5 fights. No matter the outcome the countdown to UFC 284 on February 11th is finally closing in!
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