“There are levels to this” is a saying that gets thrown around often when discussing the fight game, but hearing Alexander Volkanovski break down why he was able beat Diego Lopes a second time proves he truly does operate on a higher plane than his peers.
Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) learned a lot from his first meeting with Lopes (27-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) at UFC 314. Particularly, the champ’s team identified a discrepancy in footwork, which allowed him to dictate the fight and win a unanimous decision.
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When the rematch was announced for UFC 325, Volkanovski and his team knew Lopes would not have enough time to shore up the holes in his footwork game, especially when it came to his ability, or lack thereof, to cut off the cage effectively – a strategy to prevent an opponent from easily circling out of danger, especially along the fenceline.
“During camp, we were thinking surely his team were gonna be like, ‘Oh, we need to learn to cut off. We’re gonna cut him off going this way,'” Volkanovski told Demetrious Johnson in an interview on his YouTube channel. “He has to at least do that, right? But I was even saying leading up, I go, I don’t know, even just cutting off – some people, yeah, you’ll cut him off, but some people can do it wrong.
“Like if he cuts off too close, I can just run him into big shots. Let’s see what he does anyway. But obviously, we’re prepared to go the other way. We’ll be prepared to go both ways if we have to. I wasn’t thinking that I’d able to go one way the whole time. I thought he would do a better job of, no matter which way I went, probably, eventually cutting me off.”
True to Volkanovski’s thinking, Lopes initially proved he worked on cutting off the cage. However, once Volkanovski identified what Lopes was doing, he adjusted accordingly – and that’s what Lopes wasn’t prepared for. The champ knew he was still a few steps ahead of Lopes, so it was just about being patient and waiting for his opportunities to open up.
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“I didn’t have to take too much risks,” Volkanovski said. “I would just keep turning until he wanted to do something, and I’d make him pay. He’s good, but maybe he just needs that little bit more IQ or footwork, and get a better understanding. That’s why that quick turnaround, it was always going to be difficult for him. That’s why when people were like, ‘Oh, he’s going to cut off.’ Yeah, but is he going to do it properly?”
The title rematch also went the full 25 minutes, but it was clear Volkanovski was in full control. Only two of the official judges found a round to score for Lopes, while the third scored each frame for the champ. The story of the fight was the footwork game that Lopes couldn’t figure out. Volkanovski was able to move freely, sticking and moving, leaving Lopes with more questions than answers.
While breaking down what separates them, Volkanovski said he’s not sure that anyone else in the division could make Lopes look like that. In the champ’s eyes, Lopes’ ability to take over a fight is effective against everyone except himself.
“Even if he started cutting me off the other way, I still had so many other layers I could have went,” Volkanovski said. “How’s he gonna be prepared for all those layers? I was able to stump him on just that next layer, and just me turning the opposite way – and I’m not having a shot at him. It’s just something that he will learn.
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“I feel sorry for him in a sense, really, to be honest. I don’t know if anyone would be able to do that to him, in a sense. Can someone stick to a gamplean like that? … I was thinking, the guy had to fight me twice. Most other people are going to end up fighting his fight. They may not have a choice, because they probably don’t know how to work him around the octagon like I can for 25 minutes.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Alexander Volkanovski breaks down Diego Lopes’ technical mistakes
