- TJ Dillashaw criticized Alexander Volkanovski’s performance at UFC 298
- The former bantamweight champ insisted that “The Great” was “scared” of Ilia Topuria the entire fight
TJ Dillashaw was certain that Alexander Volkanovski went out there to face Ilia Topuria but he was obviously scared of his challenger’s power.
TJ saw the knockout coming
Speaking on Jaxxson podcast, Dillashaw repeatedly pointed out that “The Great” did not have an answer for “El Matador” at UFC 298. For the former bantamweight champ, Volkanovksi looked like he wasn’t his old self and worse, he didn’t have a gameplan against Topuria.
Dillashaw also noted that Volk appeared to be “scared” the whole time and was “worried” about the power that his opponent possessed.
“The way that I saw it… he was only throwing kicks. I know he was scared of the power. You can tell the way he was fighting, he was very scared of Topuria’s power, which he should be to an extent, but he’s never fought like that in the past. The first two rounds, all he was doing was throwing kicks. He wasn’t setting them up. He was just throwing them. He was expecting Topuria to block them,” Dillashaw commented.
“I was thinking he was trying to slow down his arms because every time you block a kick, it’s like getting a charley horse in your arm,” he continued. “Every time you get hit there, more blood comes to it. It slows his arms down. So, I was thinking maybe he’s slowing down his arms by throwing kicks and getting him to block, because he wasn’t setting them up. He wasn’t throwing kicks to knock him out. You could tell because if he was trying to do that, you’d throw a combo, finish with a kick, hopefully catch him.”
“These were just unset up just throwing up kicks and then every time Topuria would get close, he’d be like backing out and leaning away,” he added. “As soon as I saw that, I was like, ‘Damn, he’s going to get caught.’ He was fighting scared. He was worried about the power… It was only a matter of time before Topuria caught him because that guy stays so tight. He’s so composed in his boxing, and his combos are great. I think that’s where it went wrong. He was scared. He was afraid of his power and fought scared.”
What could be next for Volk
Volkanovski has now lost two fights in a row via knockout. Unsurprisingly, “The Great” wants an instant rematch with Topuria but some are suggesting that he take a lengthy break first, considering he is not getting any younger.
As for Topuria, the new featherweight champion prefers a fresh opponent but he would be glad to prioritize a showdown with Conor McGregor at any weight class.
Watch Dillashaw’s full podcast talk below:
