Israel Adesanya paid Alexander Volkanovski a visit ahead of UFC 298.
Featherweight champion Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his title against Ilia Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in the Feb. 17 main event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Former middleweight champion Adesanya traveled to Wollongong, Australia to spend some time training with Volkanovski at his gym Freestyle MMA. The pair have often spent numerous training camps together at City Kickboxing, where Volkanovski also trains.
“I want to see him in his house on the home stretch, see where his mind set’s at, see how sharp he is and draw energy from it,” Adesanya said on Volkanovski’s YouTube channel. “That’s why I’m here.”
Volkanovski has never lost at featherweight. He’s coming off a knockout loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev this past October at UFC 294, but Adesanya is confident that Volkanovski will silence any doubters against undefeated Topuria.
“Sharp, blade,” Adesanya said of Volkanovski. “My man, he’s on. I like what he said in one of the lead-ups. He said, ‘How quickly they forget,’ and I know that feeling. How quickly they forget. But again, this is where we come through. It’s time to remind them. He’s about to do that in Anaheim.”
Adesanya is on a quest to remind everyone himself after losing his middleweight title this past September at UFC 293. “The Stylebender” took some time off but has hinted at returning soon.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
