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Despite his masterful performance against Holloway in their first meeting and his impressive run of success inside the Octagon thus far, Volkanovski remains a somewhat unheralded champion.
“I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t bother me or it hasn’t bothered me because that’s just facts,” he said of still not quite getting his due from the MMA community at large. “I probably don’t get the credit that I deserve, but the people that know the game, that study the game, and the fighters got nothing but respect for me.
“You’re always going to have some doubters and even though I’ve already beaten Max, I’m going to have people who doubt me,” continued the ever diplomatic and understanding Volkanovski. “I’m not hating on them, even though I feel a little disrespected because, at the same time, Max was a great champion.
“There is a reason everyone thinks he can take me out and it’s because he’s a great fighter, which shows you how big my win was,” he added. “Once I go out there and prove myself again, people are going to have no choice but to be like, ’S***, this kid is no joke,’ even though you don’t shut someone out for five rounds by luck.”
Part of what may contribute to Volkanovski still not quite getting the respect he deserves given everything he’s accomplished is that there is no one single thing about him that really stands out, and I mean that as a compliment.
He’s essentially done the same thing as his friend and City Kickboxing teammate Israel Adesanya by blazing a trail to the top of his division without suffering any setbacks, but unlike “The Last Stylebender,” Volkanovski isn’t spitting fire on the microphone, performing choreographed dances before and after his fights, or doing anything flashy inside the cage.
He’s just a well-rounded fighter with incredible conditioning, a high Fight IQ, and a special ability to keep himself level-headed at all times when he’s inside the Octagon.