{"id":294779,"date":"2023-10-22T01:24:15","date_gmt":"2023-10-22T01:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=294779"},"modified":"2023-10-22T01:24:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-22T01:24:15","slug":"distressed-volkanovski-reveals-stunning-mental-health-news-after-ko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/mma\/distressed-volkanovski-reveals-stunning-mental-health-news-after-ko\/","title":{"rendered":"Distressed Volkanovski reveals stunning mental health news after KO"},"content":{"rendered":"
Alexander Volkanovski has broken down in tears following his\u00a0painful KO loss at the hands of Islam Makhachev in Abu Dhabi, revealing the intense personal strain he has been under.<\/p>\n
Makhachev defeated Volkanovski at UFC 294 with a devastating head kick and punches in Round 1 of their highly-anticipated re-match.<\/p>\n
It was an impressive performance from Makhachev and settled whatever debate still remained from the pair’s first bout in February.<\/p>\n
Incredibly, it was just the second time in the Aussie’s career that he has been stopped and the pain of it was visible for all to see.<\/p>\n
Volkanovski became very emotional when speaking to press after the bout, fighting back tears when talking about the pressure he has been under.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Featherweight king Alex Volkanovski was devastated after his loss to\u00a0Islam Makhachev<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Volkanovski was in tears after the bout and revealed the mental battles he has been going through in the leadup to the event<\/p>\n
‘It is hard,’ he said<\/p>\n
‘It really is hard for athletes.<\/p>\n
‘I never thought I’d struggle with it but for some reason when I wasn’t fighting or in camp\u2026’<\/p>\n
Volkanovski was forced to pause and regather himself as he became choked up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘F**k, sorry,’ he told reporters.<\/p>\n
‘It (not being in camp) was just doing my head in.<\/p>\n
‘So when this opportunity came up, I’ll be honest I wasn’t training as much as I should’ve, but I thought I had to do it.<\/p>\n
‘Had to take it. I thought it would be\u2026 I was telling myself it was meant to be.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Volkanovski revealed that not training for competition was ‘doing his head in’<\/p>\n
‘I was doing my head in not fighting.<\/p>\n
‘Don’t know why.<\/p>\n
‘I’ve got a beautiful family.<\/p>\n
‘I think you just need to keep busy. So I ask the UFC to keep me busy.<\/p>\n
‘I need to be in camp or I’m gunna do my head in.<\/p>\n
‘I’ll leave it at that.’<\/p>\n
Volkanovski then suggested it may have been ‘silly’ of him to take the fight at just 11 days notice, but took nothing away from his rival.<\/p>\n
‘Too many details, so I apologise for that,’ he said.<\/p>\n
‘I think it (mental health issues) is a common thing, but it’s OK to touch on it a little bit.<\/p>\n
‘Pretty much all I wanted to get out was that it was about much more than money.’<\/p>\n
Makhachev is likely to face either Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje next, although he will be a significant favourite against both men.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Currently, Jon Jones sits atop the pound-for-pound list but it is difficult to argue with the Russian on this kind of form.<\/p>\n