Islam Makhachev made sure that Alexander Volkanovski’s daughter wouldn’t think about him as a bad guy.
Last week, former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski told a hilarious story that his daughter revealed she was scared that someone might break into their house.
Volk said he told her not to worry and assured her that everything would be fine because after all, he is a world champion mixed martial artist. But in a surprise, Volk’s daughter asked him what if the person who broke in was Islam Makhachev. Volk was speechless – and his friends broke out laughing.
Well, the story must’ve reached Dagestan as Makhachev sent toys for Volk’s girls to remind them that he was not going to break into their house. Volkanovski revealed Makhachev’s sweet gesture in a social media video which he posted on the eve of his UFC 298 title defense against Ilia Topuria.
Unfortunately for Volkanovski, his reign atop the UFC featherweight division ended last weekend with a stunning knockout loss to the Spaniard. The loss was Volk’s third in his last four bouts, with the other two coming at the hands of, well, Makhachev, whom the Aussie unsuccessfully challenged twice for the UFC lightweight title.
After Volkanovski’s defeat, Makhachev made sure to console his two-fight rival and keep his spirits high.
“Alex is undeniably one of the greatest champions in the FW division. Keep your head up and come back strong! Congrats to new champ Topuria, well done!”
Volkanovski won the UFC featherweight title by defeating Max Holloway at UFC 245 in 2019. He successfully defended the belt five times before losing to Topuria. Saturday night’s defeat was also the first suffered by Volkanovski while fighting in the featherweight division.
The Aussie demanded an immediate rematch after Saturday night’s fight but the Spaniard didn’t sound too interested when the question was popped to him. According to the new king, he isn’t going to give Volk the rematch because it is time to move on and let the new generation rule the promotion now.
Meanwhile, Makhachev is still waiting for his next assignment from the UFC. The reigning UFC lightweight champion has not fought since his back-to-back wins over Volkanovski last year. Volkanovski took Makhachev to the scorecards during their first meeting at UFC 284 and then proceeded to knock out Volk during their rematch at UFC 294 last October.