'I ain't going to sleep': Alexander Volkanovski's final vow ahead of UFC 284

Supposedly, nobody gets out of Brian Ortega's triangle choke - but the featherweight kingpin already did just that in an escape Houdini would have been proud of.

So maybe dethroning Makhachev, and becoming a two-division champion at UFC 284 in Perth on Sunday, isn't as unlikely as the bookies say it is for this former concreter from Wollongong, the UFC's pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet.

Makhachev's story starts with him wrestling bears as a child, suggesting a 168cm tall challenger would be easy prey - that is, if you've never seen Volkanovski actually fight.

Volkanovski is adamant he can handle Makhachev's ground game after Craig Jones - who has won multiple IBJJF world championship medals and was ADCC runner-up in 2019 - played an integral role in camp.

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"I had one of the best grapplers in the world put me in these positions for 16 weeks straight - a bigger, stronger guy than him putting me in these positions, one of the best submission artists in the world," Volkanovski said.

"So to think I won't be prepared for that is silly. I ain't tapping. I ain't going to sleep. I'm getting out and I'm putting hands on him, and that's that.

"I know I'm doing everything I need to. I'm not putting rounds in for the sake of it. I do specifics. I do details. We studied him - obviously you've got to respect your opponent to really know what they're good at.

"Supposedly, he doesn't respect me as an opponent. He's thinking I'm going to be easy. I hope he did do his research like we did because you need to with fights like this."

Volkanovski tipped the scales at 154.5 pounds at the official weigh-ins in Perth on Saturday while Makhachev was forced to strip off behind a towel to make the 155-pound limit.

The next in line to challenge for Volkanovski's featherweight throne will be either Yair Rodriguez or Josh Emmett, who both hit a championship weight of 145 pounds ahead of their interim title bout in the co-main event.

"[On Sunday], we put it all on the line, but [on Sunday], I'm coming for f---ing everything. Let's go," Volkanovski yelled to the masses at the ceremonial weigh-in that followed.

The headline act in the UFC's long-awaited return to Australia has been touted as the ultimate clash of styles, with a supreme wrestler in Makhachev to meet a lethal striker in Volkanovski.

Though Makhachev harbours little intention of grinding his way to victory - and perhaps the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.

"I want to knock him out," Makhachev said.

"He is the best fighter in the world right now in the rankings ... but I know I'm the best MMA fighter because I have all the skills."

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