Coach Jorge Climent is willing to give Alexander Volkanovski an immediate rematch, but he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for the Australian fighter.
Ilia Topuria is the new UFC featherweight champion after taking the belt off long-standing champion Alexander Volkanovski in February. It was a decisive win: “El Matador” hit “The Great” with a blistering right hand against the cage, knocking him out cold in the second round (watch the highlights here).
But considering Volkanovski’s resume, there’s little doubt Topuria will face him again. The only question is whether it’s an immediate rematch or not. In a new interview with Hablemos MMA, Topuria’s coach Jorge Climent suggests an immediate rematch is a bad idea.
“I do believe that Volkanovski deserves a rematch for everything he’s done in this sport, plus the short-notice fight he took,” Climent said (translated from Spanish by MMA Junkie). “However, if I were his team or his friend, I’d tell him, ‘Look, relax. Go get another fight to get back on your feet, go feel good again, win, and then we go after him.’”
“That would be the smartest thing he could do. And again, if I were his friend, that’s what I’d recommend him.”
“He’s coming off two defeats, and I don’t see him recovered enough to go for the immediate rematch,” Climent added. “That’s why, if I were his friend, I’d tell him, ‘Take it easy, go do another fight, get your confidence back up, and we’ll do it again.’”
Many have blamed Volkanovski’s loss on his decision to fight Topuria four months after suffering a bad head kick knockout against Islam Makhachev. Even Volk agrees the quick turnaround after such a devastating loss may have been bad for him mentally, if not physically as well.
It’s still unclear whether “The Great” will actually hit the bench and spend the majority of 2024 recovering. If he does, Climent had another top name he’d like his student Topuria to face: Max Holloway.
“I think Volkanovski and Holloway deserve it most,” he said. “After that, it’s pretty even among everyone else. I think those two are the ones that most deserve to fight for the title – Holloway and Volkanovski.”
Holloway will have to get past Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 on April 13th first. No small task, considering he’s moving up to lightweight for the bout. But can anyone deny him if he wins? Team Topuria certainly wouldn’t.