{"id":372065,"date":"2024-03-02T03:35:50","date_gmt":"2024-03-02T04:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=372065"},"modified":"2024-03-02T05:03:02","modified_gmt":"2024-03-02T05:03:02","slug":"why-volkanovskis-true-character-will-shine-in-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=372065","title":{"rendered":"Why Volkanovski's 'true character' will shine in defeat"},"content":{"rendered":"

F\ufeffor the first time since 2019, Alexander Volkanovski<\/a> no longer holds gold in the UFC – but according to a fellow Aussie star, the now-former champ is built to bounce back.<\/p>\n

In one of the most shocking defeats in recent memory, Volkanovski was knocked out in brutal fashion by Ilia Topuria<\/a> in the main event of UFC 298, ending a lengthy stranglehold on the featherweight strap.<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old has now lost two fights in a row, with his move up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev<\/a> ending in agony last October – but it was the end of his title reign in the 145lb division that has led to concerns over his future in the sport.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW LIVE:<\/strong> New Zealand v Australia first Test day three<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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However, in an exclusive interview with Wide World Of Sports, light-heavyweight star \ufeffTyson Pedro<\/a> claimed that both Volkanovski and Israel Adesanya<\/a> – who lost his middleweight title in Sydney last year – will bounce back from their defeats.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"It's such a hard spot – we're very close with Volkanovski and he is one of the best to ever do it," the Sydney-born light heavyweight said.<\/p>\n

"Win or lose, they are still gonna get up and it's the same with Israel [Adesanya]. <\/p>\n

"The true character of the man is seeing what happens after you get knocked down, and they will both be able to get back up."<\/p>\n

Pedro has faced adversity during his own UFC career, spending an extended period out of the octagon due to injury, while also suffering tough defeats in four bouts.<\/p>\n

Volkanovski has already began clamouring for a rematch with Topuria, which could happen in late-2024, while Adesanya has remained somewhat quiet since his surprise loss to Sean Strickland in September. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It's not all doom and gloom for the Aussies and Kiwis however, with Robert Whittaker<\/a> putting his name back into championship contention with a hard-fought win over Paulo Costa on the same card as Volkanovski's loss. <\/p>\n

\ufeff"I was very happy for him," Pedro said.<\/p>\n

"That was a solid fight and solid win on his resume. I'm just excited for all the boys, I will always support the Australian boys and I think it's gonna be a big year."<\/p>\n

Pedro will return to the cage on Sunday morning (AEDT) against the undefeated Vitor Petrino in Las Vegas, just a few hours before the NRL's historic double-header. \ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

F\ufeffor the first time since 2019, Alexander Volkanovski no longer holds gold in the UFC – but according to a fellow Aussie star, the now-former […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":368644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372065"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=372065"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":372071,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372065\/revisions\/372071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/368644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=372065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=372065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=372065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}