Making his first featherweight championship charge at UFC 298 in March of next year, surging Georgian contender, Ilia Topuria has claimed incumbent gold holder, Alexander Volkanovski stand no chance of escaping Anaheim, California with his title in tow come the culmination of their clash.
Topuria, the current number five ranked featherweight contender, most recently headlined a UFC Fight Night Jacksonville card back in June – earning Fight of the Night honors in a unanimous decision shutout win over former interim title chaser, Josh Emmett earlier this summer.
And as for Volkanovski, the undisputed featherweight champion, most recently headlined UFC 294 back in October, suffering a stunning opening round high-kick KO loss to lightweight titleholder, Islam Makhachev in the pair’s title rematch in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
In his most recent featherweight appearance, New South Wales favorite, Volkanovski turned in a successful championship unification win over then-interim gold holder, Yair Rodríguez – and formally held the top spot on the pound-for-pound ranking totem pole.
Ilia Topuria vows to snatch title from Alexander Volkanovski
Claiming earlier this month how Topuria needs to be humbled in their UFC 298 title clash in March of next year, Volkanovski apparently stands no chance of retaining his title in Anaheim – that’s according to the incoming challenger.
“He (Alexander Volkanovski) doesn’t stand a chance,” Ilia Topuria told ESPN Deportes. “He has zero opportunity. I don’t see any holes, but I can tell how he attacks. The only attack I see is that he is going to kick my legs. That’s the only thing that he can do.”
Spoke with @Topuriailia who says it's been studying Alexander Volkanovski for weeks, expects to put a masterpiece and face one of the easier fights of his career against the featherweight champion in #UFC298
Via @ESPNDeportes https://t.co/nYJogqgqOO pic.twitter.com/Z3Hvba1NYe
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi
(@CCLegaspi) December 8, 2023
(@CCLegaspi)
“He has good cardio,” Ilia Topuria explained. “But everyone has good cardio when they’re not under pressure. When you’re walking forward, you’ll have good cardio. But when you’re in trouble, cardio tends to fade away, and this will be the case. He will have someone in front of him that never goes back. I think it’s going to be perfect. It’s going to be a masterpiece, to hit and don’t get hit. That’s what you will see in this combat. You’ll see an authentic mixed martial artist.”
Who wins at UFC 298 next March: Alexander Volkanovski or Ilia Topuria?