Alexander Volkanovski has revealed he was trying to settle his baby daughter Reign when the call came through for a UFC fight proposal so ballsy, he readily admits: “If I go out there and lose, I might never get that title shot again”.

In what shapes as one of the biggest fights in Australian sports history, Volkanovski is set to throw down against reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev on just 11 days notice in Abu Dhabi.

Apart from putting the UFC featherweight king on the cusp of ‘champ champ’ status this Sunday, it has also seen him rewarded by UFC president Dana White with a huge new contract.

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As first revealed by Fox Sports Australia last week, the new deal now makes ‘Volk’ one of the highest paid UFC fighters not named Conor McGregor.

However the 35-year-old concedes there is also plenty at stake when he faces the Dagestani bogeyman who, apart from being on a run of 12 straight wins, also earned a contentious decision win when the pair last faced off at UFC 284 in February.

While Volkanovski insists he is under no pressure in this massive showdown, he concedes there are also heavyweight stakes attached to the Yas Island showdown.

“This is how it is,” the champ said shortly before jetting out for Abu Dhabi with his team, “There is no pressure on me, and I’m not feeling any pressure.

“But there is still a lot on the line.

“This is my rematch for one of the biggest fights, and one with a rivalry.

“So if I go out there and lose, I might never get that title shot again.

“I’m not going to get a rematch, I’m not going to get a third fight, and I’m not going to be able to fight for that lightweight title.

“My legacy, it takes a big hit.

“So there is plenty to lose for me.

“But I’m not preparing for the worst; I don’t have time for that.

“If it (happens), I’ll deal with it, but I only have time to prepare for how I believe this fight is going to go.

“And I’m so clear with my vision.”

Volkanovski also declared that, while he learned plenty from his first match with Makhachev, which finished with him suffering a controversial decision loss, he isn’t sure his rival will change from the first fight.

“Everyone can make improvements but I don’t think he (Makhachev) is the type of fighter that can go and change his game that much,” the Australian started.

“He’s so good at what he does.

“But I don’t think he has that adaptability.

“And I don’t think he is going to want to change anything anyway.”

Think you are the better fighter?

“100 per cent I do,” Volkanovski continued.

“He’s a good fighter, although in that first fight we thought we did enough.

“I feel like I’m a better fighter when you talk about composure and everything like that.

“I believe I’m the more complete fighter.

“And like I said, I can make adjustments and deal with adversity a lot better than most.

“Never lose composure.”

Asked how the fight initially came about, Volkanovski revealed he was sitting next to his wife Emma, and trying to settle their baby daughter, when his manager Ash Belcastro phoned.

“Emma was sat next to me so I handed her Reign,” the now father of three daughters recounted.

“Then Ash started by saying ‘you’re not going to believe this’ … but then he said ‘you aren’t going to worry about this but I need to do my job’.

“Sort’ve like it ain’t gunna happen.

“But then within a couple of seconds we thought ‘we are going to do this’ …”

From there, it was a quick call to coach Joe Lopez, who was out of the country.

“And he said OK,” the champ continued.

“So I rang back Ask, said we were in, and he then went and did his part, talked to Hunter (Campbell, UFC Chief Business Officer) while I rallied the troops for camp.

“That afternoon we had a fight simulator.

“I hit up the lads and they were there for the fight simulator”.

Was there anyone said don’t do it?

“Not really,” Volkanovski said.

“Obviously people will always play devil’s advocate, say make sure the paycheque is good and things like that.

“But everyone is excited.

“It’s something that puts a massive smile on their faces.

“It didn’t even look like anyone was nervous.

“They’re all excited just like me.

“I lot of people might be like ‘what are you doing?’ but we’re all excited.”