Alexander Volkanovski has no shortage of motivation heading into his latest title defense at UFC 298.
Not only is the City Kickboxing standout coming off back-to-back losses to reigning lightweight king Islam Makhachev, but he will be facing a dangerous, undefeated challenger in Ilia Topuria. If he had gotten his way, Volkanovski would have faced Topuria even sooner.
“The good thing is about someone like that, I’m always trying to fight or find a No. 1 guy. A clear contender for me to face in this featherweight division and Ilia is it, right?” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “He was the next, it’s clear. They signed the date. I actually wanted him straight after Yair [Rodriguez at UFC 290]. I told him come jump the fence and get a faceoff because he was undefeated. I didn’t want anyone else fighting him. I wanted to make sure I got a young, hungry undefeated guy that’s got hype around him.
“He likes to talk. So, it’s easy to get motivated for this, right? I need to do nothing to hype up this fight. Let him do the talking and I’ll do the walking February 17, 18 here in Australia. I’m gonna go work, humble him, and show the world again — remind them and let him know that he’s still got a way’s to go until he’s up at the top. I’m gonna show him that Feb. 17.”
Topuria has been supremely confident ahead of the matchup with Volkanovski. “El Matador,” who is undefeated in 14 professional appearances, recently forecast a first-round knockout of Volkanovski. The Australian champion has responded with a prediction of his own.
“Prediction is, I teach him a good lesson,” Volkanovski said. “He’s going to be embarrassed, he’s going to eat some of his words, and it’s going to be maybe be the start of his journey. Again, he’s young. He is confident. I’ll humble him. He’ll bounce back and start after I give him a good ass beating. Round 2, I think. I think I crumble him in the first.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be an easy fight, but I think just how confident he is, he hasn’t been able to prove that. I prove that every time I step in this gym. I’m pushing myself to the limits. I don’t know if he does. He doesn’t act like it. So I’m going to push him, and I think I crumble him inside one, and I get the finish soon after that.”
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