Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski knows he wasn’t himself in his knockout loss to Ilia Topuria back in February.
Volkanovski was coming off a KO loss to Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt as he was dropping back down to featherweight where he was the champ. Against Topuria, Volkanovski was timid and in the second round, Topuria landed a big shot that knocked him out.
With Alexander Volkanovski likely getting a rematch against Ilia Topuria in his next fight, in the rematch, he vows to be his real self and won’t be timid like he was in the first fight.
“Ilia is a great fighter – let’s see because the next Volkanovski is going to turn up,” Alexander Volkanovski told The AllStar. “The real Volkanovski, I guarantee you that, and let’s see if Ilia can handle that. Again, I’m not taking anything away from him, I’m not saying he can’t. He’s obviously got heavy hands. He’s obviously got good skill, but I want him to be tested against the best version of myself or all the top guys and really prove himself…”
“You’re not going to see a timid Volk. You’re going to see a Volk that fights his fight,” Volkanovski said. “You want to be put in front of me and put yourself in a position to land bombs, be ready for one coming straight back at you.”
When the potential rematch would happen is uncertain, as Topuria could face Max Holloway next time out, as Volkanovski is taking time off to let his brain heal.
Alexander Volkanovski thinks Max Holloway could make Ilia Topuria fight look ‘easy’
Although Alexander Volkanovski will fight for the belt in his return, it may not be against Ilia Topuria.
Topuria could face Holloway next in his first title defense, and if that fight does happen, Volkanovski thinks Holloway wins and could make it look easy.
“I also believe Max can go out there and make that fight look easy. … I think Max wins that fight. Topuria is very dangerous, a great fighter. But I don’t think he’s as good as he thinks he is. And of course he caught me, right? So I can’t really say much. So I need to show everyone. I know I can do it, too. And I’m also quite confident Max can too, which is why I didn’t want him fighting Topuria before I did,” Volkanovski said to Fox Sports Australia.
If that does happen, however, it’s uncertain if Topuria would get an immediate rematch, or if Volkanovski will get his title shot next time out.