Alexander Volkanovski is intrigued by the dangers presented by Yair Rodriguez in their upcoming title fight.
On July 8, ‘The Great’ looks to continue his legendary run in the UFC featherweight division by defending his title at UFC 290. Standing in Volkanovski’s way is Rodriguez, who is coming off wins against Brian Ortega and Josh Emmett.
During an appearance on DC&RC, Daniel Cormier asked Volkanovski about the dangers of Rodriguez. The UFC featherweight champion responded by saying:
“He’s a dangerous fighter, which is exciting to me. I’m not looking for easy fights and easy challenges. I want fights that are gonna be difficult, I want fights that people see the danger. I see the danger just as much as the people that think he has a chance as well because he is a dangerous guy, very unpredictable… I think he’s one of the most dangerous guys I’ve ever faced. Would I say he’s one of the hardest fights I’ve had? No. There’s probably a lot of ways I could win in this.”
Volkanovski last fought on February 11, when he lost a close unanimous decision against Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight championship. ‘The Great’ now returns to the featherweight division as he looks to extend his eleven-fight win streak. Only time will tell if the Australian can continue his dominance at 145 pounds.
Alexander Volkanovski discusses the possibility of fighting Ilia Topuria in the future
Alexander Volkanovski is focused on defending his throne against Yair Rodriguez. With that said, another rising featherweight contender is on the champion’s radar. On June 24, Ilia Topuria solidified himself as a legitimate future title contender after dominating Josh Emmett throughout five rounds.
During the same appearance on DC & RC, Daniel Cormier asked Volkanovski about Topuria. ‘The Great’ had this to say:
“You’ve mentioned guys coming through like [Ilia] Topuria and things like that. People are hyping him up, it excites me, I love it… I’m not gonna say too much. Obviously, I think he’s a good fighter. The more I speak, the less I’m gonna hype up the fight.”
Since making his UFC debut in October 2020, Topuria has won six consecutive fights, including his last two statement wins against Bryce Mitchell and Emmett. ‘El Matador’ still has some work to do before earning a title shot, but it seems inevitable that he will one day compete for the UFC featherweight title.
