Following another impressive victory over Yair Rodriguez, Alexander Volkanovski successfully defended his featherweight title. However, Ilia Topuria has emerged as a new challenger, boldly stating that he is the only one capable of ending Volkanovski’s reign as the featherweight king.
Topuria has issued a challenge, expressing his confidence in his ability to dethrone the current champion and seize the title for himself.
Ilia Topuria rips Alexander Volkanovski
Ilia Topuria asserts that he has rightfully earned the opportunity to contend for the featherweight belt, citing his impressive record in the octagon. ‘El Matador’ eagerly anticipates the chance to go head-to-head with Volkanovski for the title.
“Let [Volkanovski] recover. If he has any injury and show up in December. I will crush his little head. The shoulder excuse sounds familiar to me, but if he needs to recover. I’m in no hurry,” Topuria said.
Alexander Volkanovski & Ilia Topuria have a face-off after UFC 290 pic.twitter.com/qvQ5HK3rlG
— Best MMA Moments (@XcellentMMA) July 9, 2023
The Georgian fighter expresses his willingness to wait for Volkanovski to recover from his injury, and he states his readiness to face him in the octagon by December.
“I am the shark. The others are sardines. Volkanovski has the belt on loan. In December I will take what is rightfully mine. So far, no one has proven me wrong. What I say comes true.” Topuria added.
In the highly anticipated matchup at UFC 290 in Las Vegas, Volkanovski squared off against El Pantera. ‘The Great’ showcased his dominance throughout the fight, leaving little doubt about his superiority in the division as he successfully defended his featherweight title, solidifying his position as the reigning champion in the division.
Alex Volkanovski vows to "squash" Ilia Topuria đŹ #UFC290
"No disrespect to the bloke, but the s*** heâs doing ainât gonna work on me.â pic.twitter.com/LSpFeVgY9g
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) July 9, 2023
Alexander Volkanvoski seeks rematch with Islam Makhachev
During the post-fight press conference for UFC 290, Volk expressed his desire for a rematch with Islam Makhachev, indicating that he still seeks revenge against him. Volkanovski hopes to achieve victory in that potential rematch and become a two-division champion by capturing the lightweight title.
âWe all know I want that lightweight belt. We all know I want that rematch. I want that Islam fight. I think not only for me to get that belt, to get that win back but I think it is a massive fight for the UFC as well. ” Volkanovski said.
Good luck this week @alexvolkanovski pic.twitter.com/zL14Wx4jBa
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) July 6, 2023
UFC 294 has been scheduled to be held on October 21, 2023, at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. There is a lot of anticipation for Islam Makhachev to return to the octagon for this event.
If Alex Volkanovski agrees, there is a strong possibility that a rematch between Makhachev and Volkanovski will be arranged for this card.
âI think itâs a fight everyone wants to see. It was a cracking fight. Everyone enjoyed it. It was very, very high level. He lived up to the hype. I lived up to the hype and that fight lived up to the hype.â Volkanovski added.
đš| Alexander Volkanovskiâs coach Joe Lopez has told @CCLegaspi that it will take 6-8 weeks for Volk to recover from elbow surgery.#UFC294 which will be headlined by Islam Makhachev is around 15 weeks away.
Volk is apparently open to a rematch with Makhachev, Topuria or even⊠pic.twitter.com/oMIVLdOrdB
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) July 10, 2023
Makhachev successfully defended his lightweight title by defeating Volkanovski with decisions of 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 on February 12 at the RAC Arena in Perth in the highly touted UFC 284 super fight between the two champs.
