Alexander Volkanovski has revealed he was drinking every day for three or four weeks, before he was called up on 11 days notice to face Islam Makhachev. 

The UFC featherweight champion fell short in his bid for lightweight gold, losing by a brutal head kick KO against the Dagestani. 

Usually renowned for his discipline between fights, this time Volkanovski allowed himself to relax but admits he slipped from his high standards. 

He said: 'I was drinking every day for three or four weeks, honestly, I don’t even know. That’s unheard of for me. Like, every day. I’ve never, ever done that. 

'But I was just like, I wasn’t training too much, obviously surgery, and just trying to help around the house. I’m like, "May as well have a couple of drinks, they’re going down good." 

'So it was going down too good. So every day I went to Cairns with the fam and come back and even then I was like, "This has got to stop." I ended up saying that the day before I got the call.

'I wasn’t disciplined. I’m known for being disciplined, professional all year around, 24/7, and I just wasn’t that time. 

'So I was really disappointed. I was more upset with who I was in previous months leading into that.'

Volkanovski returns to action in the main event of UFC 298 next weekend where he he will attempt to defend his belt against Ilia Topuria. 

Even though he's coming off a defeat, he still has no regrets about taking the Makhachev rematch on incredibly short notice. 

He said: 'I will always take short-notice. A lot of people got upset with the decision I made to do a short-notice. I’m not. It’s not the decision, it’s just the timing off of it. 

'Any other time in my career, I’m not saying I win, I just know I’m in a better position. That’s all I can say. 

'He caught me and that’s that. I just wish I could pull the trigger and make it more of a fight, and I just didn’t.'

It will be interesting to see if Volkanovski is affected by returning to the fold relatively quickly after such a heavy KO, especially against a powerful undefeated rising star in Topuria. 

The Spaniard born to Georgian parents in Germany has finished 12 of his 14 opponents as a professional and will be desperate to take the scalp of the best featherweight of his generation.