Australian UFC champ Alexander Volkonovski has shrugged off suggestions he will head into his rematch with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev underdone, after accepting the fight on just 11 days’ notice.

After Makhachev’s original opponent Charles Oliveira pulled out, Volkanovski was quick to put his hand up to replace the Brazilians on the UFC 294 card in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

This will be Volkanovski’s first fight since defeating Yair Rodriguez on July 9th, with the UFC featherweight champion undergoing surgery on his left arm just days after later.

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Volkanovski wasn’t expected to be back under the bright lights until January, when he’s slated to take on Ilia Topuri. Instead, the Aussie has now jumped at the chance for the Makhachev rematch, hoping to avenge a defeat at the hands of the lightweight champion earlier in the year.

When asked by Fox Sports’ Niko Pajarillo if he was coming into this Sunday’s bout underdone, Volkanovski was honest.

“Compared to how I would be every other camp, well I’m not going to lie to everyone and say I’m in the exact same shape, it’s a complete lie,” Volkanovski said.

“If anyone can do five rounds at this short notice, it’s me. I can do five rounds any day of the year, no matter how much time I get off. I could have the whole year off and I guarantee I can get through the five rounds, and I’d be competitive with any man in the world.

“I am that guy who can do that.”

Volkanovski went onto say the fight on short notice was something “he needed” and that he is prepared to “shock the world”.

“I’ve been training. Yeah I had the surgery, so I couldn’t do too much then, but as soon I could get back,” he said.

“At the end of the day, I don’t have the preparation, but what do I have? I have a fresh head, I’m physically and mentally fresh. I’m excited, I’m so free, no pressure at all.

“I needed this. It was doing my head in thinking I had to wait until January. It was all meant to be, I was doing my own head in as I needed to do something and this come up and I tell you, this is all a part of my story.

“The world’s turning for me right now and I can’t wait to go out there and shock the world.”

It’s clear Volkanovski was keen to move up a weight class and fight Makhachev again, but many would have expected it to happen down the track and when the Aussie champion enjoyed a stronger base of preparation.

However, Volkanovski admitted these are the sort of challenges he relishes, despite the risk involved and that based on his recent training sessions that his “body knows” and is ready for this weekend’s fight.

“It excites me. I always talk about challenges, and I look at this as a whole different level of challenge. I’ve always said I would do things like this, so I don’t want to be the guy who doesn’t when I’ve said I’m the guy I would,” he said.

“So maybe there was a little bit of ego involved.

“I accepted the fight with more doubt than I have now … Now that I’m doing my sessions, well I’m happy where I’m at.

“I thought I’d be a little bit more out of shape or more underdone when I actually accepted the fight … It’s like my body just knows when it’s time and my body knows. It flicked a switch.

“The day after I knew (about the fight) I ended up breaking records in my strength and conditioning gym and my jumping records. I never jumped that high in my whole life.

“It’s like now my body knows that you need to turn it up … You need to have extra power, extra explosiveness, extra knockout power, you need it all. It is like my body just knows to flick the switch everywhere and now I’m breaking records. It’s pretty crazy.”

If Volkanovski can pull off an upset and defeat Makhachev, he’ll become the fourth male fighter in UFC history to hold two belts at once (lightweight, featherweight).