Alexander Volkanovski has revealed that he will require surgery on his arm after re-asserting himself as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter in his featherweight title defence.
Volkanovski was expected to be given a stiff test by Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 but finished off the big-hitting Mexican inside three rounds for a TKO win.
The Sydneysider was as humble as ever following his win, opening up on the “fear” he had of Rodriguez’s striking ability as he revealed his plans to go under the knife.
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“I’ll be completely honest with you, I need to get a little bit of surgery on my arm,” he said.
“Going through camp was a bit of a struggle but I was always going to turn up here and do my thing.
“I’ll go and get that surgery as soon as I get home and I’ll be back in. I’ll make sure I stay fit while I’m in recovery and I’ll be back here soon. I want that lightweight belt (and) I’m still coming for it.
“I’m being honest with you, through camp there was a bit fear, fear of his striking knowing how dangerous he was. I put that in my head to make sure I prepared properly and this week I flipped the switch.
“I prepared the way I did because of the man I respected, but a couple of days ago my mindset flipped, I’m the champ and the king of the division, no one was ever stopping me.”
Volkanovski turned his attention to Ilia Topuria soon after dispatching Rodriguez, accusing the Georgian native of “running his mouth”, as the pair faced off outside the octagon before the Aussie’s exit.
According to UFC great Daniel Cormier, Topuria stands little chance of stopping the Aussie’s run of dominance.
”This guy is the featherweight king by far, it’s not even close right now,” Cormier said.
“I know Ilia Topuria is a fantastic fighter and he’s so good at the simple things, but I don’t know if the simple things can get Alexander Volkanovski.
“I think you’ve got to have a little bit of what we saw in there tonight, but then look at what he did to that.
“It’s going to be really difficult for someone at that weight class to really challenge this guy, he’s that good.”
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