Ilia Topuria might be 5’7, but he isn’t short on confidence.
In just two weeks, the UFC featherweight title is on the line once again. Current champion Alexander Volkanovski comes back down to 145lbs to defend his championship against the oncoming Topuria in the UFC 298 headliner.
‘I Want To Knock Him Out’
Alexander ‘The Great’ attempts to bounce back from a KO loss to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in his last outing at UFC 294. With four months in between fights, it’s a bit of a quick turnaround for Volkanovski and many fans are left doubting his chin.
Topuria will try to make it back-to-back KO losses for the reigning champion.
“I don’t care if I’m the first [fighter to KO Volkanovski], the second one, the third one. The thing is, I want to knock him out,” Topuria said on ‘The MMA Hour‘. “I want to win and I know that I’m going to win. That’s the main thing.”
Topuria Says UFC Title Win Is ‘Inevitable’
For the undefeated Topuria, losing isn’t an option. ‘El Matador’ believes he was brought into this world for one purpose only and that’s to become UFC Champion. He has already made it so, at least on his Instagram bio where it reads: ‘@ufc world champion’.
“It’s inevitable I’m going to win this fight,” Topuria claimed. “It’s my destiny. You know, it always was my destiny. I was born as a fighter. I was born as a UFC world champion. I know my level, I know myself and I have the capacity of analyze all my opponents.”
‘I’m Better Than Everyone’
Topuria doesn’t just believe he’s the best in the featherweight division… he also believes he’s better than the rest at lightweight, too.
“I know that I’m better than anyone in my division— even in the next weight class. I’m better than everyone. It’s just a matter of time that I’m gonna prove all of them time and time again.”
We’ve seen Ilia Topuria ‘talk the talk’ and now we’ll have to wait and see if he can ‘walk the walk’ at UFC 298.
