“He gives lot more problems than Ilia,” Alexander Volkanovski boasts bringing in THIS UFC lightweight to emulate Ilia Topuria in training camp

UFC star Alexander Volkanovski talks about training with lightweight fighter, who can imitate Ilia Topuria in preparation for his fight at UFC 298.

“He gives lot more problems than Ilia,” Alexander Volkanovski boasts bringing in THIS UFC lightweight to emulate Ilia Topuria in training camp

Alexander Volkanovski training with Brad Riddell ( Image via Imago/X )

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is preparing for his title defense against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. In a recent video on his YouTube channel, he revealed he was taking special measures to prepare for the fight this February. Here is what happened:


Alexander Volkanovski has been training with Brad Riddell. Riddell is a UFC lightweight contender from New Zealand. Volkanovski said that Brad was strong, stocky, and powerful. Here is what Volkanovski said about training with Riddell: 

I've got Brad Riddell over, who's obviously a great training partner just in general but even stylistically. He's obviously a very good boxer himself, I think he can sort of simulate Ilia. To be quite honest, I think he can give me a lot more problems than what Ilia will and that's not knocking Ilia, that's just showing how good Brad is.
Alexander Volkanovski via YT
YouTube video

Volkanovski believed that Brad could give him more problems than Topuria. However, he emphasized that it was not a knock on Topuria but simply a highlight of how good Brad Riddell truly was.

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Brad Riddell is a professional kickboxer and Muay Thai expert. He boasts a professional record of 59 wins and ten losses. Riddell has competed globally, from Europe to China, securing victories in various competitions. However, his MMA record is ten wins and four losses. Riddell took a break from MMA after losing three fights in a row.

Volkanovski will fight Topuria at UFC 298 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, this February. Like Volkanovski, Ilia Topuria has also fought in the lightweight and featherweight divisions. He will earn a spot in the P4P rankings if he can defeat Volk in February.

Ilia Topuria’s reaction to Alexander Volkanovski’s video

Alexander Volkanovski confidently mentioned Ilia Topuria in his training update video on his YouTube channel. He revealed that Riddell was excellently imitating Topuria to help him prepare for the fight. Topuria had expressed confidence in challenging the featherweight champion.

Ilia Topuria has a message for Alexander Volkanovski
Ilia Topuria has a message for Alexander Volkanovski (Source: Twitter/UFC.com)

However, Ilia seemed to have embraced a confrontational role amidst all of this. Topuria said that it was time for Volkanovski to retire. Taking to X, he wrote that there must have been something wrong with Volkanovski if he thought anybody could imitate him. Topuria said that he would knock Volkanovski out like his last fight. He ended it by calling him old and asking Volkanovski to make way for Topuria.

Australian UFC star Alexander Volkanovski boasts a record of 26 wins and three losses. He last fought against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 as a last-minute sign-up. Volkanovski got knocked out in the first round.

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