Alexander Volkanovski is set to be knocked out so badly at UFC 298 he may not even be able to walk from the cage, let alone demand a rematch of the UFC featherweight crown.
This is the bold prediction from undefeated Spanish challenger Ilia Topuria, who has also promised Fox Sports Australia he will ice the Australian superstar within a round — and get it done by targeting a potential KO ‘button’ on the champion’s temple.
Apart from being undefeated in all 14 fighters as a professional — and on a tear of six straight inside the Octagon — Topuria is doubling down on claims Volkanovski is now susceptible to being iced given the way he was brutally finished by an Islam Makhachev headkick four months ago.
However, three of the UFC’s most beloved stars disagree – with Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje and Jim Miller all tipping ‘The Great’ to defend for a sixth time.
UFC 298: VOLKANOVSKI VS TOPURIA | SUN 18 FEB | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the new exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View events!
Witty Volk embraces ‘old man’ criticism | 02:24
Speaking at Wednesday’s media day, UFC star Henry Cejudo warned Volkanovski was returning up to four months too early and with a target on his temple.
“Because he took that blow to the head,” he said of the Makhachev headkick, “and I think there could be a button there”.
Topuria agrees.
“And we’re going to test it,” he told Fox Sports Australia this week.
“Just as I’m going to punch him everywhere. Everywhere.”
The challenger also insisted he would not be offering Volkanovski, who has already defended five times, a rematch if the belt changes hands.
After dethroning Holloway for the title himself five years ago, Volk then had to fight the Hawaiian superstar another two times before everyone finally conceded he was the division’s best.
“But the way I beat him,” Topuria said, “nobody will be asking for a rematch.
“I’m leaving no doubt.
“The opponent’s he’s had in the past, they haven’t had the same level of skill that I have inside that cage.
“My boxing, my wrestling, ground game, my mentality, it’s all on a completely different level.
“Volkanovski is about to face someone completely different to any opponent he has faced in the past.”
So as for where the loss will leave Volk?
“I don’t know what he’s going to do,” the challenger shrugged. “Does he stay in featherweight, move up, retire, I don’t know.
“I just wish him all the best and hope he can walk from the cage afterwards.”
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Holloway, however, disagrees.
“Brother, with Volk’s last fight going the way it did, with the old man talk, the disrespect, I think it’s all really added fuel to his fire,” he warned.
“I think he wants to make a statement in this fight. Really shut people up.
“And I think he does that. I think he gets the finish.
“Don’t know how it will be, or when … but Volk has that dawg in him brother we’ll see that dawg on fight night.”
Miller and Gaethje both agreed, with the latter picking Volkanovski while suggesting “he’s going to fight like he did against Yair Rodriguez”.
Miller added: “I think this is a tough fight for Volk, I really do.
“But the way he’s been so dominant in this division, I think he gets the job done.
“I think he outworks Topuria through five rounds.
“And I’m a huge fan of Volk.
“The way he carries himself, the old man schtick, it’s great.
“I’ve only met him in passing a couple of times but he strikes me as a normal guy who performs and an abnormal level.”
Meanwhile, Conor McGregor has also backed Volk to win – claiming he’ll cop some early damage but finish his rival inside two rounds.
TAFA LEFT ‘BATTERED AND BRUISED’ IN TKO LOSS
Junior Tafa’s left leg took a beating on Sunday as Marcos Rogerio de Lima scored a second-round TKO victory.
Tafa, who was born in New Zealand but fights out of Queensland and under the Australian flag, had taken the fight on just one day notice after brother Justin had to pull out due to injury, having initially been scheduled to fight Karl Williams on a UFC Fight Night card in March.
Tafa found himself in immediate trouble as de Lima landed a nasty calf kick that had the Australian looking seriously compromised and at risk of being finished early.
Strangely though de Lima opted to try shoot for the takedown instead of capitalising on Tafa’s limited movement with the calf issue by keeping the fight on the feet.
“I don’t get that,” Joe Rogan said in commentary of de Lima’s strategy, describing Tafa’s injured leg as “almost useless”.
That was only further illustrated when Tafa limped to his feet after the opening round, having spent the second half of the period on the ground after de Lima finally landed a takedown after a nice combination had the Australian backing up towards the fence.
“Can’t even stand on it… he’s in agony right now,” Rogan said.
“That leg is battered and bruised.”
Tafa’s corner implored him to switch to southpaw and initially he started the second round in orthodox before making the change.
Tafa landed one big shot before de Lima floored Tafa again with another crushing calf kick to bring an end to the fight.
VOLKANOVSKI REVEALS ISLAM’S CLASSY ACT
While Volkanovski may be undefeated at the featherweight division, his two career losses have both come while fighting up at lightweight against current champion Islam Makhachev.
Whether his latest knockout defeat to Makhachev is weighing on Volkanovski remains to be seen, but it seems like his daughter certainly hasn’t forgotten about it.
Volkanovski said earlier in the week that one of his daughters had been concerned about what would happen to her and the family if a robber ever broke into their home.
The featherweight champion understandably tried to ease his daughter’s concerns, assuring her he would be in position to protect her if she was ever in danger.
“But what if it’s Islam,” his daughter cheekily said, according to Volkanovski.
Well, Makhachev appears to have seen that video and sent a few gifts to Volkanovski for his daughter in a classy bid to also make sure she knows he isn’t going to cause any trouble.
FIREWORKS WITH TWO EARLY KNOCKOUTS AMID CRAZY INJURY REVEAL
Danny Barlow also goes by ‘LeftHand2God’ and proved why that is the case on Sunday, destroying Josh Quinlan in a vicious third-round knockout in his UFC debut.
Barlow, who was making his UFC debut after a stoppage victory on the Contenders Series, dropped Quinlan with a thundering counter left hand and refused to let up.
Even as Quinlan somehow kept getting back to his feet Barlow also kept coming back as he swarmed his opponent until the referee had no choice but to step in.
It was quite the statement for Barlow, who stopped Raheam Forest after just 79 seconds in the Contenders Series to earn his shot in the UFC.
Making Barlow’s win even more incredible was the fact he later revealed that he suffered a broken arm in the first round of the fight.
Elsewhere, Zhang Mingyang kicked off the preliminary card with a bang as he knocked out Brendson Ribeiro in just one minute and 41 seconds in what was also his UFC debut.
Mingyang landed a brutal combination to bring an early end to the fight, first with the right hand and then immediately following it up with a brual left hook that had Ribeiro crashing to the canvas.
The Mountain Tiger then guaranteed the finish with a series of hammer fists, making quite the impression in his first UFC fight to improve his overall MMA record to 17-6.
FULL CARD
MAIN CARD (from 2pm AEDT)
Champ – Alexander Volkanovski (26-3-0) vs. No. 3 Ilia Topuria (14-0-0) – featherweight
No. 3 Robert Whittaker (25-7-0) vs. No. 6 Paulo Costa (14-2-0) – middleweight
No. 8 Geoff Neal (15-5-0) vs. No. 10 Ian Garry (13-0-0) – welterweight
No. 2 Merab Dvalishvili (16-4-0) vs. No. 3 Henry Cejudo (16-3-0) – bantamweight
No. 14 Anthony Hernandez (11-2-0) vs. Roman Kopylov (12-2-0) – middleweight
PRELIMS (UFC Fightpass, from 12pm AEDT)
No. 3 Amanda Lemos (13-3-1) vs. No. 7 Mackenzie Dern (13-4-0) – w. strawweight
No. 15 Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-10-1) vs. Junior Tafa (7-3-0) heavyweight
Rinya Nakamura def. Carlos Vera via UD (30-27 x 3) – bantamweight
Zhang Mingyang def. Brendson Ribeiro via TKO in Round 1 – light heavyweight
EARLY PRELIMS (UFC Fightpass, from 10am)
Josh Quinlan def by Danny Barlow via TKO in Round 3
Oban Elliott def Val Woodburn via UD (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
No. 15 Andrea Lee def by Miranda Maverick via UD (30-27 x 2, 29-28)
UFC 298: VOLKANOVSKI VS TOPURIA | SUN 18 FEB | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the new exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View events!
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Ilia Topuria has warned Alexander Volkanovski that he is “not ready” for what the undefeated featherweight rising star is going to bring in the pair’s main event bout at UFC 298.
Topuria, who holds a 14-0 record and wins over Josh Emmett, Bryce Mitchell, and Jai Herbert, declared he had “one of the best weight cuts” of his career ahead of Sunday.
It has the Spanish fighter primed to capture his first title, maintain the undefeated start to his MMA career and — in the process — hand Volkanovski his only defeat in the division.
“He thinks that he’s ready. I’m telling you he’s not [ready] for what I’m going to bring tomorrow night in the cage, he is not ready for that,” Topuria told Main Event ahead of Sunday’s fight.
“He’s going to have to bounce back [from a loss] again.
“He is very good-rounded. He has a lot of great skills inside the cage. But I have more power than him. I finish my fights more than him.
“Maybe he has the experience but tomorrow you’re going to see me with a lot of experience too. I prepare myself for war and I don’t have the stamina to go for five rounds, I have the stamina to go for five days.”
Volkanovski is coming off a first-round knockout defeat at the hands of Islam Makhachev in a lightweight title rematch, turning his attention towards continuing his dominant reign atop the featherweight division.
The Australian was clearly emotional after that fight, choking back tears while revealing mental health issues played a role in his taking the fight on just 12 days notice.
‘He’s not ready’: Ilia sees one outcome | 03:13
Volkanovski has had a lot more time to prepare for Sunday’s fight, which is his sixth title defence and a chance to further cement his legacy at 145 pounds against one of the divison’s most hyped rising stars.
Topuria though doesn’t seem to be overwhelmed by the occasion — in fact he has been overconfident more than anything, changing his record to 15-0 along with the tag of UFC champion on his Instagram profile.
“That’s his style,” Volkanovski said in response to Main Event.
“He wanted to go the trash-talking route and the confidence and all that. I’m fine with that. It’s perfect for this part of the story. He’s undefeated but it’s not going to end well for him.”
Volkanovski doesn’t feel “disrespected” by it all though. He understands it.
“I just think he’s playing the game,” added the champ.
“But it’s obviously a risky game to play, especially when you’re up against me.”
While Topuria said he has the power that Volkanovski is lacking, the Australian is tipping a second or third-round finish on Sunday.
“The pressure got to him at the presser and the pressure’s going to get to him when he’s standing in front of me,” Volkanovski added.
Of course, Volkanovski is not the only Australian on the card with Robert Whittaker looking to put himself back on a path towards title contention in the middleweight division.
He faces an equally desperate Paulo Costa, who is also hoping to make the kind of statement that could catapult him to a title shot in the near future.
“He’s a powerful guy,” Whittaker said of Costa, who has 11 wins by knockout to his name.
“If I let him do what he wants he’s going to be swinging those big arms and legs around all day. That’s not what I want to day. I’m going to take the fight to him, put it on him and see how he likes that.”
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Elsewhere, the undefeated Ian Garry is aiming to continue his rapid rise as he faces No. 8 ranked welterweight contender Geoff O’Neal.
Meanwhile, Henry Cejudo admitted it is “all or nothing” as he faces No. 2 ranked bantamweight contender Merab Dvalishvili before eyeing a move up to 145 pounds and a title shot with the winner of Sunday’s main event.
“I told the team, ‘It’s either gold or bust.’ I either win it all, or I’m not gonna have it all, and I’m out,” Cejudo said earlier in the week.
“I am putting that timeline, that pressure on me, because I do take this sport seriously.”
There is one other Australian on Sunday’s card, although not the one that everyone was expected, with Justin Tafa’s brother Junior stepping in to replace him and fight Marcos Rogerio de Lima after an injury setback.
Source Agencies
