Chandler Worried About Volkanovski’s Health – ‘Your Brain Can Shut Off’
Michael Chandler has urged Alexander Volkanovski to consider how many times he fights moving forward following his recent losses.
The former UFC Featherweight Champion lost his belt after being knocked out in the second round at UFC 298 against Ilia Topuria. That was his second successive stoppage after having been stopped by Islam Makhachev in the first round last year.
That defeat was at lightweight, showing Volkanovski has suffered in two different weight classes. He has been one of the most active fighters. Chandler urged him to take things slowly, given that he is 35. Volkanovski has already called for a rematch with Topuria in Spain. This shows he has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. But that could backfire with Chandler giving a word of caution.
Chandler On Volkanovski
“Man, I never want to strengthen the narrative of someone maybe making a bad decision, but it would maybe lend itself to that, right? I mean, Volk coming out, taking that fight on short notice, and then fighting — what? — three and a half, four months after, which means you’re back into a training camp, back sparring, taking blows to the head again, just month and a half, two months later.
“It’s not the right recipe, so to speak. Almost pretty much the exact opposite of what I’ve done. And this is why you can look at that and you can say, ‘Man, Volk might have had a different outcome that night had he not gone right back into a training camp.
“It is a real thing. Your brain can shut off, your body can shut off, and there is a diminishing effect when it comes to being able to take punches. And yeah, I don’t want to say that was why it happened, but I want to see the best for Volk. I would like to see him sit down a little bit, enjoy some time with his family, still stay involved but don’t take any punches to the head, man, because we need him in the sport for a little while longer,” Chandler said
Chandler’s Future
Those comments are understandable, given Volkanovski’s admission for his recent losses. For the Makhachev loss last year, the Australian admitted drinking before his training camp for the fight began. He also revealed he had taken the fight on too much short notice, as he had less than two weeks to prepare for Makhachev once Charles Oliveira had pulled out with an injury.
At the same time, Chandler has been suffering from inactivity. He has not fought since his loss to Dustin Poirier at the back end of 2022, as he continues to chase a fight with Conor McGregor. While the fight has been mentioned since their rivalry on the TUF 31 series, nothing indicates it is close to being made. The difference between the inactivity with Chandler and Volkanovski’s increasing number of fights has hindered them in their way, leaving them with plenty to think about.
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