Alexander Volkanovski plans to humble Ilia Topuria during their highly-anticipated world title clash later this week.
On Saturday night, February 17, UFC 298 will conclude with Volkanovski returning to defend his featherweight title. Standing in his way of a legacy-extending win is Topuria, a brash 27-year-old with an undefeated record and arguably delusional confidence.
Volkanovski recently shared a video on his YouTube channel confirming his training camp was complete. Following footage of his workout, ‘The Great’ sat down for a quick interview with his cameraman and had this to say about Topuria:
“The good thing about someone like that is I’m always trying to fight a number-one guy, a clear contender for me to face in this featherweight division. Ilia [Topuria] is it, right? He was next, it’s clear, they assigned the date. I actually want him straight after Yair [Rodriguez]. I called him to jump the fence to get a faceoff.”
Volkanovski continued by further explaining why he’s excited to fight Topuria:
“He was undefeated, I didn’t want anyone else fighting him because I wanted to make sure I got a young hungry undefeated guy that’s got hype around him. Yeah, he likes to talk, so it’s easy to get motivated for this one. I don’t need to do nothing to hype up this fight. Let him do the talking, and I’ll do the walking February 17th. I’m going to go do work, humbling and show the world again, remind them, and let him know he’s still got a ways to go before he’s up top, and I’m going to show him that February 17th.”
Alexander Volkanovski predicts a second-round finish after “crumbling” Ilia Topuria in round one
When it comes to UFC title fights, it’s difficult for fighters to make a prediction, as anything can happen inside the Octagon. With that said, Alexander Volkanovski is confident he will break down Ilia Topuria and defeat him inside the distance.
Volkanovski had this to say when asked for a UFC 298 main event prediction during the previously mentioned YouTube video:
“Predicition is I teach him a good lesson. He’s going to be embarrassed. He’s going to eat some of his words, and it’s going to be maybe the start of his journey. Again, he’s young, he is confident, I’ll humble him. He’ll bounce back and start after I give him a good a*s beating.”
Volkanovski continued by providing more details about his prediction:
“Round two I think. I think I crumble him in the first. I’m not saying he’s going to be an easy fight, but I think just how confident he is, he hasn’t been able to prove that. I’ve proved that every time I step in this gym. I push myself to the limits. I don’t know if he does, he doesn’t act like it, so I’m going to push him, and I think I crumble himself inside the one, and I get the finish soon after that.”
Alexander Volkanovski is widely considered the greatest featherweight MMA fighter of all time. Yet, the Aussie superstar can’t overlook Ilia Topuria, as the Georgian title challenger holds a 6-0 promotional record, with four wins inside the distance. It’ll be intriguing to see if Topuria can silence the doubters and dethrone Volkanovski.
Watch Volkanovski’s YouTube video talking about Topuria below:
