SUMMARY
- Alexander Volkanovski will be defending his featherweight title against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.
- In an interview, Volkanovski talked about how, after winning his fight, he would make Topuria do a humiliating thing.
UFC fans are in for a treat, with major upcoming fights on the schedule. The new year started with a bang with newly crowned middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 297. In the upcoming PPV event UFC 298, one of the most dominant fighters in the modern era, Alexander Volkanovski, will be taking on a fierce challenge in the form of undefeated featherweight Ilia Topuria.
The anticipated matchup would take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on February 17, 2024. Volkanovski, who is still undefeated in the division and former UFC pound-for-pound number one, would be looking to settle scores with Topuria. The Spanish mixed martial artist had been involved in a war of words with the champion during their recent meetings and press conferences.
Ilia even went so far as to declare himself the UFC World Champion on his Instagram bio. This didn’t sit well with the current champion, who stated, “I’m just going to play, going to humble the dude, you know what I mean. I’m like okay time will tell, like next press conference, couple of days, you know your words are going to be much different” during his interview on the Freestylebender podcast.
Further, Alexander Volkanovski also commented, “And I’m gonna make sure…I want him personally to change it to 14 and 1 and contender or whatever he is going to change it to.” He indicated that he would humiliate the Spanish mixed martial artist and force him to reset his Instagram bio.
Ilia Topuria vows a first-round knockout against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298
The featherweight bout has become very personal, with a lot at stake, including legacy and dominance. Alexander Volkanovski has committed to making Ilia Topuria humble and breaking his undefeated record at UFC 298. Topuria also didn’t hold back during his interviews, showing confidence and vowing to not only dominate but win the fight through a first-round knockout.
He stated, “It’s going to be a first-round knockout. You will see…There are levels, then there is me. I’m going to show you where the levels are. I’m going to dominate him everywhere. I’m going to make him look like a punching bag” during his interview with the MMA Hour. The challenger showed no remorse or appreciation for his opponent and claimed to surpass him in all aspects of the sport.
Alexander Volkanovski confident against Ilia Topuria aims Islam Makhachev trilogy fight
The champion is quite confident in his skills and experience and believes in keeping his dominant title reign alive. He also further shared his interest in moving to lightweight for a trilogy fight against Islam Makhachev. The two last met at UFC 294; they stepped up on short notice but lost the bout via KO. Alexander still hopes to reach double-champ status and further cement his legacy.
Ilia Topuria plans to ‘dominate’ Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, wants Conor McGregor next https://t.co/VDM3cVCRGE pic.twitter.com/4ps06k0aJG
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) February 6, 2024
His opponent, Ilia Topuria, also shared his plans after winning the featherweight belt. To everyone’s surprise, Topuria claimed that he wasn’t interested in fighting the current top featherweights if he won the title. The UFC fighter called out the former double champion, Conor McGregor, for the money fight and believes in drawing in big PPV numbers.