UFC champ Alex Volkanovski has unveiled his fight predictions for 2022, along with a surprise for Dragons NRL players.
Alexander Volkanovski wants a blockbuster UFC trilogy against Max Holloway in March next year – and will have some of St George Illawarra’s biggest names forming part of his preparation.
Speaking with News Corp this week, UFC featherweight champ Volkanovski not only unveiled his fight predictions for 2022, but also plans for transforming the Dragons into a finals force.
The 33-year-old and head coach Joe Lopez have both been added to the Dragons coaching staff for next season, with the pair keen to upset bookmakers who have labelled the Red V $51 premiership hopes — the competition’s rank outsider.
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Volkanovski said as part of his work with the club, he would get players into his Freestyle Fighting Gym at Widang, where UFC superstar Israel Adesanya could also be training before Christmas.
The champ is also tipping Holloway to beat Yair Rodriguez in their Las Vegas title eliminator this Sunday, which expects will then make for their trilogy fight in March.
As revealed in this week’s Fight Club column, Volkanovski says Holloway should be “begging” him for a third bout early next year, adding: “Nothing is bigger than that shiny gold belt I know he wants”.
It has now been two years since the Wollongong product stripped ‘Blessed’ of his UFC crown, which he then defended again last year in a contentious split decision win between the two.
While Holloway has hinted at having “bigger options” next year – including a fight with Irish megastar Conor McGregor – Volkanovski insists a third fight will be made between the two rivals in the first third of the year.
Asked about his plans for the Dragons, where he and Lopez have been employed by head coach Anthony Griffin to work on the side’s defence, the fighter said: “I can’t give too much away, but it’s happening.
“We want to give our insights, some little tricks that we believe can help.
“And I believe with their (the coaching staff’s) knowledge and them explaining things to us while we then give our knowledge, I think we can definitely make something that is very useful.
“It’s still early days … but we will be picking each other’s brains.
“There will be a lot of things we see that will definitely help them. We’re even looking at bringing the players down to some of our sessions – for conditioning, motivation stuff like that.”
Lopez agreed, with one of Australia’s most esteemed MMA coaches adding: “We’ve already had a session with the players and there was something in particular I picked up straight away.
“Rather than simply showing the players stuff and then letting them get stuck in – where things get lost in translation, or due to ego — we want to break everything right down, teach them how to do everything slow and right.
“Develop good habits.
“Obviously these guys know footy 100 times better than I ever will. But when it comes to all those little things required to put a man on the ground, where to put your hands, your feet … we want to drill that over and over and over so the right way becomes all they know.”
Asked about Holloway this week, Volkanovski said: “You hear Max trying to act like ‘we’ll see what happens’.
“Well, hey, you’re zero and two against me.
“You should be begging.
“You think you’ve got bigger things? Think you can insult me?
“Fine.
“But nothing is bigger than the shiny gold belt that I know he really wants. That I took off him and he can’t get.
“So he’s going to act like he has bigger plans.
“But the UFC don’t have bigger plans.
“The UFC want the winner of (Sunday’s) fight fighting me.”
Originally published as UFC: Alex Volkanovski’s shock plan for St George Illawarra and Max Holloway