- Ilia Topuria is positive he is better than Alexander Volkanovski in all aspects
- “El Matador” sees himself being patient against “The Great”
Ilia Topuria has been closely watching Alexander Volkanovski’s game and he is now confident that he could take the reigning featherweight champion out at UFC 298.
Volk is not bad, Ilia is just better
Speaking to ESPN Deportes’ Carlos Contreras Legaspi, “El Matador” revealed that he has been regularly studying Volkanovski heading into the fight. Topuria has yet to find any weakness of “The Great” but what he is sure about is that there is no way Volk could beat him.
“Everyday I wake up and watch film, even videos of old trainings that are available. I watched everything. He doesn’t stand a chance, he has zero opportunity,” Topuria assessed.
“I don’t see any holes, but I can tell how he attacks. The only attack I see is that he is going to kick my legs, that’s the only thing he can do. He has good cardio but everyone has good cardio when they’re not under pressure. When you’re walking forward, you’ll have good cardio but when you’re in trouble, cardio tends to fade away, and this will be the case, he will have someone in front of him that never goes back,” he added.
“I think it’s perfect, it’s going to be a masterpiece to hit and don’t get hit. That’s what you will see in this combat, you’ll see an authentic mixed martial artist,” he continued.
Spoke with @Topuriailia who says it's been studying Alexander Volkanovski for weeks, expects to put a masterpiece and face one of the easier fights of his career against the featherweight champion in #UFC298
Via @ESPNDeportes https://t.co/nYJogqgqOO pic.twitter.com/Z3Hvba1NYe
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi 🦁 (@CCLegaspi) December 8, 2023
Ilia won’t rush
Topuria is well aware that facing a high-level fighter like Volkanovski requires patience. While Volk plans to humble Topuria, “El Matador” thinks the key to a finish is to not force the issue.
“What I imagine is that I’ll be there with a lot of patience, looking for any opening,” Topuria envisioned. “I’ll be there to take advantage. But the most important thing for me is to stay patient all the time, stay ready, don’t make unnecessary efforts. The finish will come without pushing it too much.”
Topuria has been undefeated his entire career and will fight for the title for the first time in the UFC. On the other hand, Volkanovski will try and get back to the win column and defend his featherweight title for the sixth time.
