ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI STILL LAUGHS about the time in 2019 when he was explicitly told not to get a haircut during fight week.
Volkanovski was in Rio de Janeiro to face Jose Aldo at UFC 237, and the promotion assigned him a camera all week for its behind-the-scenes series, “Embedded.” When Volkanovski mentioned that he intended to see a barber that Monday, it was met with genuine concern by the producers. No, no, he mustn’t do that. Didn’t he know about the curse? Everyone who got their hair cut on “Embedded” lost.
Volkanovski, who will look to successfully defend his featherweight championship against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on Saturday in Anaheim, California, went ahead with the trim and dominated Aldo at UFC 237 to earn his first title shot.
“Everyone told us not to do it,” remembers Volkanovski’s head coach, Joe Lopez. “Alex debunked that myth. Then they all told him, ‘Don’t give [Octagon announcer] Bruce Buffer a fist bump, it’s bad luck.’ And Alex eliminated that one. We’re not into myths. We do our thing, and that’s it.”