Alexander Volkanovski: I’m On A Different Level To Brian Ortega

Alexander Volkanovski believes he is levels above Brian Ortega who appears to be next in line for a shot at the 145lb champ.

Ortega looked brilliant in his first fight in two years against ‘The Korean Zombie’ who he comprehensively beat over five rounds at UFC Fight Island 6. Volkanovski told SCMP MMA that he was impressed by Ortega’s performance, he said.

“It took me by surprise because I didn’t expect him to fight, I wouldn’t say fight smart, but his shot selection, a couple of things that I just didn’t expect. I thought he would just be looking for the finish, that’s what he does.

“… But there, he showed patience, shot selection, fakes — a lot of things that we work on. Whether he took some notes out of our book, I don’t know, but he’s obviously stepped it up and he looked good.”

Ortega’s performance created some hype among fans about a potential match-up with the featherweight champion. Volkanovski though, excited by the prospect of a new challenger believes he is on another level to his future opponent.

“It’s exciting for me but at the same time, I really do believe I’m just on a whole other level and I’m so well-rounded, I can take the fight wherever it is,” Volkanovski explained. “I’m the guy that never quits. With me, it’s so easy to say I’m well-rounded but it goes so much deeper than that. There are so many little things that I just have down to a tee and I work so hard to make sure that I am such a complete fighter that if someone gives me trouble somewhere, I can always take it somewhere else.

“… Even if I have to go to the ground. … I don’t need to worry about him taking me down. We’ll see. Obviously, I can’t give too much away but if I want to take someone down, I can. Am I going to have a BJJ match with him in a middle of a UFC fight? No. But again, I’m a very smart fighter. There’s different rules [compared] to just on the BJJ mats. We can punch you on the face, there’s a cage, there’s a lot of obstacles in an MMA cage especially when you can use your hands and elbows and what not. … If I want to take it to the ground, I’ll be more than comfortable to do so.”

Holloway was able to systematically break down Ortega when they fought for the featherweight title at UFC 231. Volkanovski expects to put on a similarly dominant performance against the new and improved ‘T-City’.

“I believe I’m going to break him,” Alexander Volkanovski said. “The way that Max did, I believe that’s somewhere I can go with. Especially with my pressuring style. This is a fun fight for me because I get to put the pressure on. I get to be in his face which is fun and people want to see that.

“… There’s levels to this. I believe my pressure, when I use it, my pressure’s on a whole ‘nother level that not many people in the world have felt. Izzy, Israel Adesanya said himself that I’m half his size and when we’re sparring, he realizes this guy is pressuring me, getting me on the backfoot. ‘Wait a minute, this guy is half my size, I can’t let that happen.’ So he stands his ground. Before he knows it, he’s on the backfoot worrying about what I’m doing. … That’s something that you don’t understand until I’m standing in front of you.” (Transcribed by The Body Lock)

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