Just like you can't actually practice drowning, there's no way of practicing escapes to the guillotine choke UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski found himself trapped in courtesy of rival Brian Ortega at UFC 266 a month ago.

Even through all the hours he spent on the mat with jiujitsu guru Craig Jones in the lead-up, Volkanovski never ventured that far into the wilderness.

"That exact position, me being flat on my back in a way he could really sink his hips in and wrap me up... it's not one we drilled much," Volkanovski said.

"I told [training partners] to get as deep as they could and I'd start the drill from there, but having him over me and struggling to make that space was probably closer than I'd like [to losing].

"I was refusing to go out but, I'll be honest, I never expected it to be in that deep.

"I was obviously starting to lose blood to the brain and the lights were getting dimmed, so for me to stay so composed is pretty incredible."

Losing when caught in one of Ortega's trademark submissions, including the triangle he transitioned to in the scramble, was hitherto an inescapable conclusion.

Doing so and finishing hard to enough the Californian needed to be [illegally] assisted to his stool by the end of the following round left many questioning if the Wollongong native can ever be put away.

"To be in that position and know that he still couldn't get the job done just builds confidence," he said.

"I'm always confident, but you never truly know until you're in there in those positions.

"No one's going to get me in that position again, I guarantee you that, but even if they do, I know they're not putting me away."

It was instant classic, despite the Aussie's dominance of the scorecards, but the 33-year-old had no idea how significant a blue he was putting on in the moment.

"No, I had to be told that," he said.

"I could hear the crowd and I sort of knew, but after the fight I still had to ask 'was that a good fight?' I didn't completely know.

"I'm always my harshest critic, there's always things I think I could've done better, so maybe that's why I had to ask the question.

"I couldn't hear my corner at all which is different so I knew the crowd was into it. In the moment I thought 'let's keep this a fun fight', but I didn't really know [how good the fight was]."

"I had an inkling in the last round where I knew we had it in the bag.

"We knew he's going to try pull something off and you don't want to give him that chance, but I didn't want to run. I wanted to stand there and keep this interesting."

Read more: Volkanovski swings GOAT pendulum his way

In the end, Ortega did the Aussie a massive favour as far as MMA fandom goes.

For reasons still difficult to fathom, the Windang slugger has struggled to earn his due respect beyond Australian shores, even as he reigns over the division on 10-fight winning streak in the UFC.

As can be the case in combat sports, it seemingly turned on a dime following the fight, the adoration of NFL fans when he appeared on the big screen at a Las Vegas Raiders game the following day was evidence of that.

For a guy so thoroughly untested prior to his last two bouts, facing his octagon mortality and somehow still emerging with a dominant victory put the exclamation point on his legitimacy.

"Winning and being the best and dominating in other sports - you're the man, people are raving on about how good you are," Volkanovski said.

"In our sport, winning and being the best isn't enough. It was a dominant fight, which everyone does know, but the fact it was a barn-burner is what people are talking about.

"I had to be put in crazy submissions and very threatening positions for people to be like 'wow, this guy's a crazy fighter'.

"People literally think I'm a better fighter because I got out of those submissions I shouldn't have even been in. If I hadn't given him those submissions [opportunities] and bashed him the whole fight they wouldn't think I was as good.

"There's an entertainment side of things that's a big part of what we do and it's something I'm really starting to appreciate and enjoy."

Appreciation of his rightful status is why he won't be taking just any fight the next time he steps into the cage.

While his destiny remains intertwined with that of his great rival Max Holloway, he'll have to wait and see if the Hawaiian sees off Mexican contender Yair Rodriguez in December.

Should he do so with the ease many pundits are predicting, he could meet the man who dethroned him as champion as early as March next year.

Should bout with Rodriguez be more of a war, it could be longer.

Timelines make a shot at the lightweight title in the interim unlikely for Volkanovski since champion Charles Oliveira is set to defend his strap against Dustin Poirier, also in December.

An injury to either man? Who knows, though Volkanovski has always showed a disdain for champions who allow divisions to lie dormant while not defending the belt.

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The supposedly retired yet ever-vocal two-weight world champion Henry Cejudo has long clamoured for a shot at Volkanovski, but would need to significantly jump the line to be granted the bout.

"If it's a massive fight we'll have a look, but we'll have to see what comes forward from the UFC," Volkanovski said

"I want to be active, I want to fight, but I'm the featherweight king, I can't just fight anybody. Even if I move up, I don't just fight anybody.

"A title fight is one I would do at lightweight, but they're fighting for that soon so the timing's just not right.

"I'll enjoy some family time, I'll still be in the gym getting better, and we'll sit back and see what comes forward."

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