Following his successful title defence at UFC 251, featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has questioned the decision by USADA to call him the night before the fight.
The Shellharbour native won a tight battle with former champion Max Holloway on Fight Island, with the champion retaining via split decision.
But speaking to the media after the event, Volkanovski opened up on his encounter with the anti-doping authority just hours before his fight.
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“I wanted to sleep because I had to get up at 3am,” he said.
“But at 10 o’clock the night before they decided to wake me up for a USADA test.
“I don’t know what the go was, but I thought it was pretty rude.”
Volkanovski has now extended his record to 22-1 and is Australia's only current UFC champion.
The 31-year old also spoke about 'finishing the chapter' with Holloway after beating him for a second consecutive time.
“It was a tough one...we expected him to make adjustments, he made good adjustments in the first two rounds," he said.
"Then he did what we actually expected him too with the attacks. But his first two rounds were strong then we had to pick it up. Through the third round we picked it up. That third round was close, but we were confident we got that third round then obviously we took the fourth and fifth.
"Tight fight, but when the judges announced the score we thought we got the last three. Happy with the win. To win a rematch like that back to back, it says something. I’m happy to finish the chapter. On to the next.
“I showed what champions are made of. This sport isn’t easy and I showed what I’m made of. Certain champions can dig deep like I did. I’m proud I did and got the job done and can bring this to Australia to my friends and family.”
