UFC 280: Why Kiwi coach won't be in Alexander Volkanovski's corner if required for UFC lightweight title fight

Eugene Bareman (right) has been in Alexander Volkanovski's corner for his last nine bouts. Photo / Getty Images

Should UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski be required to step into action at UFC 280 this weekend, he will do so without Eugene Bareman in his corner.

Volkanovski has flown to Abu Dhabi to be the backup fighter for the UFC lightweight title contest between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Should one of the fighters get injured, fall ill or drastically miss weight ahead of Sunday morning's event in Abu Dhabi, then Volkanovski will step in to fill the void and get a shot at a second UFC belt.

Bareman, the head coach from Auckland's City Kickboxing gym has been a constant among Volkanovski's fight night cornermen alongside Volkanovksi's head coach Joe Lopez for his last nine bouts. However, with the chances of Volkanovski fighting this week possible, but very slim, the Kiwi coach has remained in New Zealand as a quartet of fighters prepare for their own bouts.

At UFC 281 in New York next month, four fighters from the Auckland gym will be stepping into the octagon. Lightweight duo Brad Riddell and Dan Hooker will look to bounce back after each taking a couple of losses in recent bouts.

Carlos Ulberg, who is expected to compete in the first fight of the night, will look to continue his rise in the light heavyweight division against tough Romanian Nicolae Negumereanu.

In the headline bout, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya puts his belt on the line against former kickboxing foe Alex Periera in one of the most anticipated bouts of the year.

"There's no point in him being here, because the chances of me fighting are pretty slim," Volkanovski admitted.

"He's got to take care of the boys. They've got some big fights coming up, so we'll let them do their thing."

Adesanya's upcoming bout against Periera will be his ninth fight in a row with UFC gold on the line, after getting his first shot to clinch the belt in 2019. And while Volkanovski hasn't been quite as active, he too has spent the best part of the last three years warding of challengers to his throne.

But while it is often said it is easier to become champion than to stay one, both Volkanovski and Adesanya had never really discussed the added weight that came with being at the top of their respective weight classes, and were simply enjoying each other's moments.

"We both deal with it pretty well," Volkanovski said of handling the pressure. "We keep in touch, but we haven't really had those types of conversations. We're generally just pumping each other up, because we've got full confidence in each other. When he's in camp it's just like, 'I can't wait for you to kick ass. Go get it, champ'.

"We know we've put in the work to do what we need to do. We have full confidence in the teams we have around us and what we are capable."

While Volkanovski is unlikely to get his shot at a second UFC belt this weekend, simply making the effort to show up on weight with a camp under his belt just in case the opportunity arises has paid off, UFC boss Dana White has confirmed he is next in line for the title shot.

That shot could come at UFC 284 in Perth in February, which would be Volkanovski's first bout on home soil since the UFC was last in Perth in 2018. That night, he was fighting in the preliminary bouts.

"This is why I did it, right? To lock myself in as the next guy," Volkanovski said. "I worked really hard; this was a proper commitment. I have to pretend I'm fighting, so this was a proper camp and everyone knows our camps aren't easy. It was a tough five-week camp, but at least I've gotten something out of it by locking me in (as the next in line) so even if I don't fight, that commitment is well worth it."