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Even the most dominant fighters eventually taste defeat if they compete long enough. We saw it this year when Israel Adesanya lost his middleweight belt to…
Even the most dominant fighters eventually taste defeat if they compete long enough. We saw it this year when Israel Adesanya lost his middleweight belt to…
Alexander Volkanovski had high hopes of defending his featherweight title at UFC 297. Unfortunately, that is no longer the…
Alexander Volkanovski had high hopes of defending his featherweight title at UFC 297.
Unfortunately, that is no longer the case after ‘The Great’ stepped inside the Octagon on 11 days’ notice last month for a short-notice clash with reigning lightweight world champion Islam Makhachev. Volkanovski’s gamble didn’t pay off as he suffered a brutal first-round TKO after the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ landed a perfectly-timed head kick in the opening minutes.
As a result, concussion protocols forced Volkanovski to move his return date back by one month. He is now set to defend his title against the division’s fifth-ranked contender, Ilia Topuria, in the UFC 298 headliner on February 17.
“Yeah obviously it was scheduled for January,” Volkanovski told Fox Sports Australia. “We just thought that would be a little bit too soon, you know what I mean? We want to follow all protocols and do everything right, obviously, after the last one and I’m lucky enough to have a great team around me, who’ve dealt with a lot of concussions in football and whatnot.
“We thought that January was a little too soon and I was lucky enough to have UFC and other guys there make that happen and move things around for me, which I’m grateful for. I think the timing will be perfect. I’ll be back in there soon, but not too soon” (MMA Mania).
Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis in January
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria in February
Sean O’Malley vs. Chito Vera in March
LET’S GOOOOO
— Jake Foley
(@JFoMMATalk) November 6, 2023
Defending his 145-pound crown for the sixth time, Alexander Volkanovski will face undefeated division standout Ilia Topuria. El Matador’ goes into the contest with a perfect 14-0 record, six of those wins coming inside the Octagon. His victory over former interim title challenger Josh Emmett in June landed Topuria the opportunity to compete for UFC gold.
“He’s a powerful dude, he’s good everywhere,” Volkanovski said of his opponent. “He’s not one-dimensional, he’s obviously very well-rounded, I just believe my skills and my understanding of the game, it’s just going to be that little bit too much for him. He’s a young, hungry dude, undefeated. Very, very confident but I think he needs a little bit of humbling, so I’m glad to be the man to do that.
“He’s a powerful dude, he likes his boxing, but again, I just need to show him that I’m a whole different breed. He’s gonna come in confident. Probably even more confident after my last performance. There’s a lot of people who are gonna be like, ‘What’s going on here?’ And I can’t wait to show them why I’ve been the king of this division for so long.”
Robert Whittaker wasn’t a fan of Alexander Volkanovski’s performance at UFC 294 but now wants to clarify some of…
Robert Whittaker wasn’t a fan of Alexander Volkanovski’s performance at UFC 294 but now wants to clarify some of the statements he made.
Volkanovski stepped in on less than two weeks notice to face Islam Makhachev on behalf of an injured Charles Oliveira. Despite how close the first fight was, the second fight wasn’t even close.
Things didn’t look too one-sided; until they did. Makhachev would land a picture-perfect head kick shortly into the first round, and that would spell night-night for the legendary Aussie. The kick and ensuing hammer fists by Makhachev would leave Alexander Volkanovski stranded on a different dimensional plane. A cosmic traveler in a different realm. In short, the fight was over as soon as the kick landed. It was a legendary moment for MMA fans to witness, and although it truly burned to see such a guy as Volkanovski have that happen to him: it was also a truly career-defining moment for Islam Makhachev.
Robert Whittaker was very vocal about the fight. Some fans believed he was too critical of Volkanovski, and also didn’t give Makhachev nearly enough credit for his terrific finish of a true legend like ‘Volk’.
“I just want to address it,” Whittaker began on his podcast (H/T MMA News). “I’m sorry if I underplayed Makhachev’s achievements in beating Volk the way he did. That was not what I intended to do even if that’s how I made it sound. I’m sorry for that, but not really to you guys, to him because I don’t want him seeing it and feeling like that.”
“Well, I am a little bit to you guys,” He continued. “Now, I spoke to Johnny [his co-host] after the episode and was like ‘Hey Johnny, was I too harsh on Volk?’ because I thought I was a bit harsh on Volk, to be honest.”
“But, you guys just made me well aware that I was not too harsh on Volk, that I was going down with him on my shield as well,” Robert Whittaker clarified.
“I do not take anything away from the way Makhachev did to take on the newcomer,” Whittaker maintained. “To take on a guy that gave him such a hard time in his first fight, to have such performance, to adapt to the changing opponents. To do what he did that night, unbelievable.”
What is your opinion on the way Robert Whittaker handled the Alexander Volkanovski loss?
An undisputed featherweight championship fight between divisional champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and surging number five ranked contender, Ilia Topuria is…
An undisputed featherweight championship fight between divisional champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and surging number five ranked contender, Ilia Topuria is currently in the works to feature at a UFC 298 pay-per-view card in February. At the time of publication, an official date, location, or venue for the flagship has yet to be determined by the organization.
Volkanovski, the current undisputed featherweight champion and former pound-for-pound number one ranked fighter, most recently headlined UFC 294 last month in Abu Dhabi, UAE, suffering a stunning first round high-kick knockout loss to Islam Makhachev in a lightweight championship fight rematch on just 10 days’ notice.
As for German-born contender, Topuria, the streaking challenger landed his sixth consecutive Octagon victory back in June – turning in a Fight of the Night display against former interim title challenger, Josh Emmett in a unanimous decision victory. The win improved Topuria to 14-0 as a professional.
According to a report tonight from Ariel Helwani, with a lightweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira currently planned for UFC 297 in January – Alexander Volkanovski’s planned return at that card in Toronto, Canada, is currently in the works to take place a month later against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.
“The current plan – though not finalized just yet – is to have Islam Makhachev x Charles Oliveira 2 – headline UFC 297,” Helwani posted on his official X account. “That event, while not officially announced yet, is currently slated to Jan. 20 in Toronto. The original plan for that main was Volkanovski x Topuria, but now the plan is for that to be on the February PPV.”
In his most recent featherweight outing, New South Wales favorite, Volkanovski turned in a stunning title unification win over former interim champion, Yair Rodríguez in the main event of UFC 290 back in July during International Fight Week, securing a third round ground strikes TKO win.
As for Topuria, the revered finisher debuted in the organization back in 2020 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, landing victories over Youssef Zalal, Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, Jai Herbert, Bryce Mitchell, and Josh Emmett consecutively in the time since.
Who wins at UFC 298: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria?
BJJ specialist Craig Jones revealed that Islam Makhachev footed the bill for Alexander Volkanovski’s lunch following their UFC 294…
BJJ specialist Craig Jones revealed that Islam Makhachev footed the bill for Alexander Volkanovski’s lunch following their UFC 294 showdown in Abu Dhabi.
Originally scheduled to defend his lightweight title against Charles Oliveira, Islam Makhachev found himself once again matched up with Volkanovski eight months removed from their Fight of the Year contender in February. In that meeting, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ needed the full 25 minutes to earn a unanimous decision victory over the featherweight champ. This time, he only needed three.
ISLAM MAKHACHEV JUST KNOCKED OUT ALEX VOLKANOVSKI
— UFC (@ufc) October 21, 2023
Mere minutes into the opening round, Makhachev launched a perfectly timed head kick that caught Volkanovski on the top of his head, sending him crashing to the canvas. A few follow-up strikes later and it was all said and done.
Joining Volkanovski at UFC 294 was fellow Aussie and IBJJF world champion Craig Jones, who revealed that Makhachev picked up the tab for Volk and his crew at a coffee shop following their rematch.
“So Volk shows up, but the guy we were meeting with, he had tried to see Islam as well before Islam left so Islam showed up at the coffee shop as well,” Jones said on the El Segundo Podcast. “So we’re all there eating lunch and having this meeting and he’s like, ‘Someone’s out front, but you probably don’t want to see him.’ Says that to Volkanovski. We look out the window and Islam’s crew comes in and they sit at another table.
“Islam actually paid our check. That was super kind of the guy. We didn’t hear about that until after and then Volk and Islam got a photo together.”
With two losses against the lightweight titleholder, Alexander Volkanovski will likely return to his featherweight throne in preparation for a meeting with the division’s No. 5 ranked contender, Ilia Topuria.
Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev will look ahead to his next challenge at 155. Initially, it looked as though the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ would be paired up with current BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje for a fight in early 2024. However, UFC CEO Dana White seems to like the idea of rescheduling the bout between Makhachev and Oliveira for the beginning of the year, leaving Gaethje to hang out to dry.
Who would you like to see Islam Makhachev defend his title against next?
Off the back of news regarding incumbent heavyweight champion, Jon Jones’ withdrawal from UFC 295 next month, featherweight kingpin,…
Off the back of news regarding incumbent heavyweight champion, Jon Jones’ withdrawal from UFC 295 next month, featherweight kingpin, Alexander Volkanovski has offered to replace the Endicott native in another short-notice turnaround – in rather tongue-in-cheek fashion, albeit.
Slated to headline UFC 295 in November at Madison Square Garden, former two-time light heavyweight champion, Jones has been forced to withdraw from his scheduled heavyweight title fight with the returning ex-champion, Stipe Miocic, after he suffered a torn tendon attached to his pectoral muscle.
As a result, both Jon Jones and Ohio veteran, Stipe Miocic have been pulled from ‘The Big Apple’ card next month, with an interim title fight between division contenders, Sergei Pavlovich, and Tom Aspinall now added to UFC 295 – in a co-main event bracket.
However, reacting to news of Jones’ exit from a homecoming event, Volkanovski, who headlined UFC 294 just last weekend, offered to make another short-notice walk – in Hunger Games-referencing fashion.
“I volunteer as tribute @danawhite @ufc,” Alexander Volkanovski posted on his official X account.
I volunteer as tribute
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) October 25, 2023
Replacing former lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira on just 10 days’ notice last weekend in Abu Dhabi, UAE – Australian fan-favorite, Volkanovski suffered a thunderous opening round KO loss to Islam Makhachev in the pair’s title fight rematch, dropped via a massive left high-kick in the first frame.
Slapped with a mandatory suspension by the UFC until at least December of this year, Volkanovski maintains he still wants to fight as soon as January next in the main event of a planned Canada return for the promotion at UFC 297 – taking on surging contender, Ilia Topuria in a featherweight championship defense.
With Jones’ withdrawal from UFC 295 to boot, an originally scheduled co-headliner between Jiri Prochazka, and fellow former Octagon champion, Alex Pereira has been promoted to main event status, with the duo vying for vacant light heavyweight gold.
When do you expect to see Jon Jones return to the Octagon after his UFC 295 withdrawal?
(@JFoMMATalk) 
