After being diagnosed with COVID-19 and pulled from his title fight with Brian Ortega, it seems Alexander Volkanovski continues to have bad luck.
Following the news that Ortega and champion Alexander Volkanovski would coach the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, unfortunately, the champion would need to withdraw from the title fight due to contracting the COVID-19 virus. The show begins airing tomorrow, and the fight between the two coaches is slated to take place sometime in the fall. While the fight was originally set to take place at UFC 260 in March, it was ultimately postponed because of Volkanovski’s health issues.
It seems the featherweight champion is struggling and admits he doesn’t feel 100 percent as he embarks on a new training regimen for his upcoming fight.
“Just did a strength session and was on the Airdyne bike, the assault bike. Tell you what, that got uncomfortable. I don’t know if it’s this bloody cold air in Australia cuz it’s freezing here, we came from Vegas where it’s boiling hot. We tried to do this outside, the assault bike … it absolutely rocked me. I don’t know if it’s cuz of the COVID or it’s just the cold weather, but damn it trashed me,” Volkanovski said in a social media video (h/t Twitter user @RtyfyhM).
While some of the champion’s commentary could be chalked up to feeling generally tired, the fact that he brought up the nasty bout with COVID-19 indicates that he is likely still feeling some of the lingering effects from the virulent disease. Hopefully, as time passes, the harmful effects Volkanovski is complaining about will subside. If the hurtful effects of the virus persist, then it could be even longer before fans get to see the anticipated coaches’ fight between Volkanovski and Ortega.
When featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski meets Brian Ortega in the cage, who is your early pick to win the fight?
