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“Incredible That USADA Would Do This” – MMA Journalist Reacts to USADA Waking Up Alexander Volkanovski During His Sleep on Fight Night

Published 07/04/2022, 11:00 AM EDT

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At UFC 276, Alexander Volkanovski defeated Max Holloway for the third time. While fans were left impressed by his performance, the Australian fighter revealed a shocking detail about their second fight. On the fight day, USADA woke up Volkanovski four hours before his scheduled time to test him.

This act by the USADA affected Volkanovski significantly. ‘Alexander The Great’ said, “It was like four hours before I had to get up. So I was already halfway through my sleep. I literally got there. They woke us all up and said that we’re going to test you and obviously my coaches and management is like, ‘What do you mean? What the h**l?”

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The current 145-pound UFC champion further added, “Went there and then obviously, I like woke up during the night to p**s . I couldn’t fill it up. Had to water load. Again, the story goes on… On water, so I could hurry up and p**s, so I can go to bed. Couldn’t get to sleep, so I took melatonin tablets. Woke up, still in a sleep cycle.”

Veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani reacted to this. On his Twitter, Helwani said, “Incredible that USADA would do this before a massive fight. At the very least, wait for the guy to wake up. Makes no difference.”

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While Volkanovski was affected, the fighter did manage to win his second fight. Not only did he win the second, but he also won the trilogy at UFC 276. However, Volkanovski revealed that he originally wanted the trilogy to take place in Australia.

Alexander Volkanovski on wanting to fight on his home turf

Even though Alexander Volkanovski won the trilogy against Max Holloway, not everything went the way he wanted. The current UFC 145-pound champion wanted to fight in Australia, but the trilogy happened in Las Vegas.

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Volkanovski spoke about his desire to fight Holloway in Australia. He said, “The UFC came to us to see what we wanted to do. It was obvious. They asked if I wanted to fight Max. I just wanted it to be in Australia. That’s what I wanted.”

The fighter further added, “That’s not possible any time soon, unfortunately, but I said I’m not waiting. I was unscathed from the last night. I want to be the GOAT of my division and the best pound for pound. That all comes with this win.

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Watch This Story: Alexander Volkanovski’s Body Transformation Over The Years

Considering how dominant he has been fighting, Volkanovski might be granted his wish soon. Who would like Volkanovski to fight next? Let us know your valuable opinions in the comments below.

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Written by:

Varun Bhat

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Varun Anand Bhat is an MMA writer at EssentiallySports. Not only does he train in MMA but he is also a certified judge, which gives him valuable insight while writing content. The fight between Conor Mcgregor & Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 was responsible for making him interested in the sport of MMA.
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Edited by:

Vibhanshu Kumar