Alexander Volkanovski will seek to answer a few questions when he fights Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight championship at UFC 314 next month.

The Aussie, a former longtime 145-pound champion, has found himself in the unusual position of losing three of his past four bouts after opening his career with a stellar 25-1 record and establishing himself as one of the finest featherweight champions in history. But after coming up short in two bids to claim the lightweight title from Islam Makhachev, as well as a shocking KO loss to Ilia Topuria a year ago, Volk says that the bout with Lopes will determine where he really is at this stage of his career.

“You are going to ask yourself like, ‘All right, this is unfamiliar territory, an unfamiliar feeling. Have you lost it? What’s going on? You must not want it anymore,” Volkanovski reflected during an interview with ESPN, as reported by Bloody Elbow.

“I was like, ‘No, not really. I remember that I have accepted that I’m having the break, but have you accepted that you’re done? ‘No, I haven’t. I’ll be back. I’ll flip the switch, but will you flip the switch?’ You know, you ask yourself these questions, but I always answer, ‘Relax, when the time comes, you will flip the switch. Don’t worry.’ But I guess you won’t know until you decide to do that.”

But according to Volkanovski, the lure of regaining a UFC championship — as well as the evidence he sees in the gym — has proved to him that he is more than capable of success in his next challenge.

“There were questions: Am I going to be able to flip the switch? Am I going to be the same guy once I flip that switch? We found out early because we started camp nice and early that we would. We’re kicking ass in the gym right now. The weight is ahead of schedule, and we’ve still got plenty of time.”