The main event of UFC 298 is scheduled to take place on February 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The fight between Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski, who has held the title of featherweight champion for a very long time, is scheduled to take place.
Topuria was able to do an interview with UFC announcer Jon Anik prior to his main event appearance at UFC 298, which took place earlier today. A variety of topics were brought up during the conversation between the two individuals, including Topuria’s development as a fighter and his preparation for the battle with Volkanovski.
At one point, Anik inquired of Topuria regardless of whether or not he had been prepared specifically for Volkanovski for a considerable amount of time. In response, “El Matador” stated:
My thoughts have been always focused on Volkanovski ever since the moment he (referring to Volkanovski) became a world champion. The reason I never stopped thinking about him was that I was constantly aware of where my true objective was and who was the most important person in the division. “So, he was always on my mind, and I was always training like one day, I’m going to face him because the whole way I’m passing right now, kind of drives me to him,” she said.
You may watch the interview that Ilia Topuria had with Jon Anik here (the comments from Jon Anik start at 1:45):
On the night of the fight, Topuria will have his first opportunity to compete for the UFC title. He presently has a professional mixed martial arts record of 14-0. He has the opportunity to become the first Spanish fighter to earn the UFC gold medal if he is victorious. This would make his current record of fifteen fights without a loss.
Ilia Topuria shows respect to Alexander Volkanovski but still believes he will come out on top at UFC 298
Ilia Topuria discussed the areas in which he believes Alexander Volkanovksi possesses the most significant strengths in the very same conversation that he had with Jon Anik. The following is what he said in response to the question of what he considered to be the most difficult obstacles that ‘The Great’ had presented:
“He kicks really well with the low kicks, and he covers the distance very well,” the coach had said. The guy gets his respect because he was the best guy in the world for a period of time, and he was the best guy in the world pound-for-pound for a number of reasons. He’s the best.”
Topuria then shifted her language to Spanish and made the following statement:
It is impossible for him to find a solution to the problem that I bring to the conflict. The majority of combatants are hitting hard or wrestling hard, but not all of them have a strategy to back up their actions. I am the only one who has a strategy that no one else has. That is the point at which I differentiate myself from the other fighters.
