At this past weekend’s UFC 298 event, Ilia Topuria astonished the mixed martial arts (MMA) community by unseating Alexander Volkanovski, who had been the reigning champion of the featherweight class for a very long time.
This was the first time that the Australian fighter had ever been defeated at the 145-pound weight class. Considering the degree of dominance that he has displayed since winning the title in 2019, there are concerns regarding the possibility of him facing Topuria in a rematch.
As a result of ‘The Great’ having been knocked out in consecutive fights, he might make the decision to take a significant vacation from the sport of boxing.
Immediately after the conclusion of the event, Dana White, the Chief Executive Officer of the promotion, made an appearance in front of the media. He was questioned about whether or not there were any intentions to bring a fight card to Spain, which was something that ‘El Matador’ had mentioned was one of his goals prior to his fight with Volkanovski.
In his conversation with the new featherweight champion, White provided an update on the plans of the firm and the following:
We will most certainly be traveling to Spain. As of right now, I have no idea who [Topuria] is going to be going up against. However, I have a great deal of respect for Volkanovski; we will see how that situation develops. Nevertheless, we are going to Spain so long as there is a venue available.
Ilia Topuria elaborates on pre-fight comments about Alexander Volkanovski “being an easy fight”
The pre-fight comments made by Ilia Topuria regarding his battle with Alexander Volkanovski caused many people in the mixed martial arts community to raise their eyebrows.
The Spaniard displayed a high level of self-assurance when he expressed his view that their battle at UFC 298 will be among the most straightforward bouts of his whole career. A remarkable knockout victory in the second round was delivered by Topuria, who had predicted that he would knock out “The Great” within the first two rounds.
The interview with ‘El Matador’ that took place after the battle was conducted by TNT Sports, during which he commented on his remarks made prior to the bout.
This is what the 27-year-old individual said:
“The way that I stated that he will be one of the easiest fights, the interpretation of that, people took it a little bit differently than how I wanted to say it,” I remarked. The point I was trying to make was that when you are competing against someone who possesses those kinds of skills inside the cage, it is a little bit simpler for me to read athletes like [Volkanovski] than it is for me to read athletes who bring a complimentary approach. When it comes to things like that, you have no idea where the punches are coming from. Alex, on the other hand, possesses a great deal of talent… The fact that he is a very obvious fighter makes it simpler for me to confront him.
