Exclusive: Alexander Volkanovski targeting revenge over Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 - 'I want to finish him'

Alexander Volkanovski has claimed that he wants a "better ending" to his rivalry with Islam Makhachev and is hoping to "finish" the Russian fighter in their rematch on Saturday at UFC 294 - live on TNT Sports.

The Australian will once again go head-to-head with the UFC lightweight champion after stepping in at short notice for Charles Oliveira, who was forced to pull out of the fight after the Brazilian sustained a cut during a sparring session.

Volkanovski was beaten by Makhachev in their first bout back in February, before the 35-year-old returned to the ring to defend his featherweight belt to Yair Rodriguez in July.

He has not had much time to prepare for this weekend’s fight in Abu Dhabi, and while he admits he's not in the shape he was back in February, Volkanovski says he is still ready to exact revenge on his opponent.

“There are adjustments that I could have made straight away and a lot of people were like ‘you didn’t have the camp’," he told TNT Sports.

“But I’m like, I can still roll in and do what I need to do. I didn’t need a camp to know what I needed to do. I knew as soon as I walked into that Octagon what I needed to do.

“Luckily, I train all year round to keep myself in pretty good nick. Am I in as good of nick as I was in February? I’m not going to lie to your face, I’m not going to say that.

“But am I still in good nick? Can I do five rounds? 100%. But am I going to rely on that? No, I can’t afford to.

"I want a better ending to this story. I want to finish him. I really want to go out there and I think that’s my best bet. So let’s go and take it.”

He added: “I could go five rounds. I don’t want to test the cardio. Let’s not test it. Let’s go out there and finish him anyway.”

Volkanovski had initially stepped up a weight class to do battle against Makhachev, with their fight earlier this year taking place in Perth, Australia.

And he made the Russian work for the win in what was an enthralling battle, taking the southpaw the full five rounds before Makhachev was awarded a unanimous victory.

While 'Alexander The Great' admitted that he “didn’t expect to be back this early”, he said fans can expect more fireworks when he takes to the Octagon on Saturday night against his old adversary.

“There’s going to be fireworks,” he said. “It’s no secret and I’m sure he knows that I’m going to be going in for the kill. They’re going to expect me to be coming in aggressive.

“They’re going to know that I’m not going to show him as much respect. I don’t need to hide the fact that I’m coming for him because I’m going to be in his face.”

Volkanovski will fight on the main card of what is set to be a huge night of action, with Kamaru Usman returning to face off against Khamzat Chimaev following back-to-back defeats against Leon Edwards.

But Volkanovski believes it was fate that he is now stepping in to fight against Makhachev at short notice, joking that a movie should be made about the story.

“Like we said when we talk high-risk, high-reward, all these things add to that story,” the Australian said.

“Add to that ending to that rivalry and you know what I mean, it was all meant to be.

“It was meant to be me coming here on 12 days' notice for the rematch against Islam. Knocking him out with his home crowd advantage, with all the odds stacked against me and we’re going to get it done. We’re going to make a movie about it.”

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