“Mark my words!” Despite fans’ cry for retirement, Alexander Volkanovski ADAMANT on taking belt back from Ilia Topuria

Alexander Volkanovski was one of the dominant featherweight champions in the UFC. Unfortunately, he lost his title to Ilia Topuria in UFC 298. ‘El Matador’ landed a picture-perfect right hand in a wild combination to knockout Volkanovski. Now, ‘The Great called for a rematch with Topuria in Spain.

In his YouTube channel, Alexander Volkanovski addressed his loss to Ilia Topuria. As such, he called for an immediate rematch. Since ‘El Matador and the UFC CEO Dana White showed interest in an event in Spain, he welcomed the idea. Here is what he said:

I definitely want the rematch. Spain is what I'm hearing is going to happen. Dana (White) wants Spain. Obviously, Ilia (Topuria) wants Spain. That probably won't be too later in the year, so obviously the timing would be perfect...I'm going to do everything right for the next one and I'm going to get that belt back. Mark my words. 

Alexander Volkanovski (via YT-Alexander Volkanovski)

Many fans wanted Alexander Volkanovski to retire since he got knocked out brutally in his last two fights. But, ‘The Great’ assured his fans he was alright and desperately wanted to reclaim the lost throne. As such, he analyzed the fight a bit. He stated Ilia Topuria caught him when he was about to shift gears and land more on him. He even pointed out the judges’ handing him the first round. Nonetheless, he credited the Spaniard for defeating him and grabbing the title.

Considering Alexander Volkanovski’s championship reign at featherweight, a rematch is deserving. However, Ilia Topuria wasn’t interested in it. All he wanted next was to headline an event in his home country, Spain. Also, Dana White agreed to make a Spain event soon in the UFC 298 post-fight press conference. As such, Alexander Volkanovski put his name as the front-runner.

Ilia Topuria states his view on offering Alexander Volkanovski a rematch

Ilia Topuria defeated Alexander Volkanovski via knockout in the second round to claim the featherweight title. He visualized this scenario numerous times in his life, and it finally came to fruition. Now that he was the champion, he earned the right to call his shots. As such, when asked about offering a rematch to Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria didn’t seem to bend.

During the UFC 298 post-fight press conference, Ilia Topuria stated he contemplated awarding a rematch to Alexander Volkanovksi. He wanted to do so only because ‘The Great’ was a good person. However, he felt he had to move on and defeat other featherweight contenders. So, he called for new faces and new title challengers.

Ilia Topuria had brushed off a rematch for Alexander Volkanovski even before they faced each other for the first time. Further, he wasn’t even ready to offer any of the top five featherweights a title shot. As such, he wanted new challenges. Right now, he called out Conor McGregor, but it was an unreasonable callout, given that ‘The Notorious’ was in a much higher-weight class.

In case you missed it:

• “He hates Cejudo so much” – Dana White denying Henry Cejudo any mic time for ‘second retirement’ at UFC 298 has fans riled up
• “He’s an inspiration,” PFL champion Impa Kasanganay plans to follow UFC welterweight Themba Gorimbo in charitable endeavors in Africa

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