A buoyant Alexander Volkanovski showed no sign of pre-fight nerves when he went face-to-face with Islam Makhachev on Friday, telling the lightweight champion 'I'll win' ahead of their UFC 284 clash.

Volkanovski, 34, enters his fight against the Dagestani as the overwhelming underdog and faces huge physical challenges against one of the best grapplers the UFC has ever seen.

But the unflappable Australian is adamant that he has what it takes to dethrone the lightweight king and become a two-weight world champion, and when he was within close proximity of his rival, he could be heard mouthing the phrase: 'I'll win'.

It had threatened to be a volatile press conference when Makhachev said he hoped Volkanovski kept the same energy when they were next to each other after the hometown hero said he found it tricky to resist the urge to punch him in the face.

Yet instead of throwing fists, the pair playfully grabbed a hold of one another on the stage, with Makhachev mocking Volkanovski's height. 

'I love challenging myself,' Volkanovski said at the UFC 284 pre-fight press conference. 'I love putting myself in this position. I think people should always do that in life. If you want to be successful, challenge yourself. It's going to make you stronger, trust me.

'I'm twice the man I was before I started this camp, because I knew the challenge ahead of me. I ain't scared of the challenge. I know I can rise to the occasion. I know it's going to make me better. That's what people remember. These moments.

'He'll sit there and say I'm crazy for stepping up and all that, I think that's weak looking at it that way. You should challenge yourself. You should put yourself in these positions. Don't look at what might happen if things go wrong — let's look at what happens if things go right. Sunday, it's going to go right and I'm going to be champ-champ.

'Supposedly he doesn't really respect me as an opponent. He's thinking that I'm going to be easy. I hope he did his research like we did cause you need to. This is two of the best going at it and I'm going to prove I am the best and I'm going show you why I deserve that No. 1 pound-for-pound.' 

For his part, Makhachev insisted that Volkanovski is biting off more than he can chew by going up a weight class.

'Because I am the champion and this is 155 [pounds] – this is not his area,' Makhachev said. 'This is other power, other division, I'm going to beat him easy.

'Of course, I respect him. He's [No. 1] pound-for-pound, but many people say Islam is the best fighter in the world right now, and Sunday morning I'm going to show you why the people think this.

'Alex is good everywhere but I am different. I have a different style. Like all of his opponents. Like ['The Korean Zombie'], I'm not going to go crazy straight. Like [Max] Holloway, he just followed him. I have other plans and I always follow my plans and finish my opponent.'