Emotional Volkanovski says he accepted Makhachev match because he 'needed a fight'

Alexander Volkanovski struggled to control his emotions following his defeat to Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday night, with the Australian detailing the mental toil that led to him taking the fight at short notice.

Volkanovski, the current featherweight champion, suffered a brutal first-round TKO loss in his title rematch with lightweight belt-holder Makhachev at Etihad Arena. The Dagestani, who won their initial encounter in February by unanimous decision, stunned Volkanovski with a head kick before finishing his rival with a flurry of punches.

Volkanovski, 35, had accepted the fight on only 11 days’ notice, stepping in for the injured Charles Oliveira.

“I don’t want to sit there and obviously make excuses,” an emotional Volkanovski said at the post-fight press conference. “Obviously, I’m a big believer in preparation and stuff like that.

“But I back myself, so that’s the decision I made. I could’ve made better decisions, but he’s not somebody you should be taking a short-notice with. But I needed it.

“A lot of people will say it’s for the money and all that, but it was much more than that. It was hard. It's really is hard for athletes.”

Breaking away as he fought back tears, Volkanovski said: “Sorry… I never thought I’d struggle with it, but for some reason when I wasn’t fighting or in camp… sorry [tears up again]… I was just doing my head in. I needed a fight.”

UFC 294

Volkanovski, who rebounded from the February reverse by successfully defending his featherweight crown in July against Yair Rodriguez, said he had to shed 26.5lbs in the 11 days to make the 155lb lightweight limit.

Considered the greatest featherweight of all-time, Volkanovski had built a 22-fight win streak before losing