- Laura Sanko talked about Alexander Volkanovski’s age and mentality heading into UFC 298
- The UFC commentator thinks Ilia Topuria is more confident than “The Great”
- The 41-year-old explained why she thinks “El Matador” could be different from Volk’s other title defenses
UFC commentator Laura Sanko delved into some important factors to watch out for ahead of UFC 298.
Volk can still make it happen at 35
Speaking to Submission Radio, Sanko was asked if she thinks reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski could still perform at a high level at 35, which rarely happens to other UFC fighters when they reach that age.
For Sanko, Volk’s age will matter against the younger Ilia Topuria but on the other hand, “The Great” is also capable of proving people worng.
“It’s not some magical fairy dust thing or Ouija Board number that these people are coming up with, what is being floated out there is a statistical fact and it is so statistically relevant… It matters, I guess is my point, you can’t deny that it matters and I would love for it to not matter… If anybody is going to buck that trend, it is going to be Alexander Volkanovski,” Sanko said.
Volk and Ilia’s confidence level
Sanko also shared her thoughts on Volkanovski and Topuria’s level of confidence heading into their title fight. According to the 41-year-old, it’s normal for people to think that Volk is still feeling a bit down because of his humiliating KO loss to Islam Makhachev but that doesn’t mean it is really the case.
However, Sanko pointed out that it’s quite evident that “El Matador,” who has been talking a lot of trash, is the more confident fighter between the two.
“Fighting does something to your psyche that cannot be replaced or not easily replaced with other things and when you are in the midst of it, the peak of your career, it’s only amplified. I think that piece of it has been a blown a little bit out of proportion just because the footage is fresh and we’re seeing it for the first time. We’re seeing him look dejected in a locker room after a loss and talking openly about things he could have done differently,” Sanko said of Volkanovski’s mentality ahead of UFC 298.
“There’s definitely a McGregor-esque feeling, all of it, the speaking into existence, what you already believe to have happened in the future,” she said of Topuria’s confidence. “The whole idea of manifestation and I love it… We appreciate the guys who are willing to take the risk to say it and to speak it into existence and to put it in their Instagram bio and I love it, I think you as a fighter you have to be a little bit delusionally confident to participate in a sport that in reality is played on a razor’s edge.”
Ilia could be different from others
Sanko is certain that aside from confidence, Topuria could also back it up as he has proven to everybody how “well-rounded” he is as a fighter. While Volkanovski is known for being well-rounded as aa champ, Sanko thinks “El Matador” has what it takes to match the champ in almost every aspect.
“I think really is the challenge at the end of the day is just how well-rounded he is and it’s something that’s not really all that sexy to talk about like, he’s just really well-rounded but the fact is he is very well-rounded very much in the same way that Volkanovski is well-rounded. And we haven’t necessarily seen Volkanovski be challenged in that way in a while in terms of like, ‘Oh he can probably match me here, he can probably at least keep up with me here, he might be a little bit better than me here,'” Sanko assessed.
“So, when we’re looking at all the different sections of the game, they’re all here [equal] with each other and so I think that there’s not really a place in this fight where Topuria doesn’t bring a danger factor which is something different than a lot of Volkanovski seen at featherweight for a while,” she continued.
Volk should just have fun
As for what Volkanovski should do in the future, Sanko said that for her, it would be best for “The Great” to take on another top featherweight contender before moving up to lightweight. However, Sanko stressed that Volk should change his mindset and forget about becoming a double champ. Instead, he should just go and face the most exciting lightweights in the game.
“I would like to see him stay at featherweight and maybe take on one more up-and-comer like a Movsar Evloev and if he gets past him at that point like, what argument would there be to make in terms of his goatness at 145?,” Sanko said of Volk’s legacy.
“And when you start to see the twilight of your career… I think it’s all about, this sounds kind of stupid, but it’s about having fun and that’s when you go up to lightweight and you take fights where you’re making bank and you’re fighting fun guys like Justin Gaethje or whoever at lightweight and it’s not necessarily like I’m going to go to lightweight, I’m gonna be a double champ because I don’t know [if] he’s going to get a third crack at Islam soon enough,” she continued.
Volkanovski will try and defend his featherweight title for the sixth time, while Topuria will make the most of his opportunity become the new 145-pound king. UFC 298 will take place this weekend at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, U.S.A.
Watch Sanko’s full interview below:
