“He WAS a great champion…” Despite giving Alexander Volkanovski his flowers, Ilia Topuria slyly refers to rival’s title reign in past tense

UFC featheweight title challenger Ilia Topuria praised Alexander Volkanovski despite engaging in various trash-talks.

“He WAS a great champion…” Despite giving Alexander Volkanovski his flowers, Ilia Topuria slyly refers to rival’s title reign in past tense

Ilia Topuria on Alexander Volkanovski ( Image via X )

The highly anticipated fight between Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski is just around the corner. This upcoming fight has garnered a lot of attention. Ilia Topuria’s bold statements and predictions have caught the attention of fans worldwide. He recently made a similar statement at the UFC 298 media day ahead of the fight. Here is what happened:

The reporter asked Ilia Topuria if he thought Alexander Volkanovsk was one of the greatest featherweights of all time. The reporter also said not to add Topuria to the discussion. This is how Topuria replied: 

Oh yeah, he gonna stay in the featherweight book for a while. That's for sure. He will be remembered as one of the greatest in the featherweight division. He was a great champion.
Ilia Topuria via UFC 298 media day
YouTube video

Topuria called himself the champion during the press conference and said he would not give long-time challengers any more opportunities. The Spaniard also said he was better than his opponent everywhere. Topuria changed his social media bios to read 15-0 and “world champion” to indicate his confidence. He also produced a documentary about his road to the belt. Topuria is absolutely determined to claim the championship.

FS Video

Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against Ilia Topuria. This is a highly anticipated upcoming fight. Topuria is an undefeated title challenger who remains confident in defeating Volkanovski. The duo will headline the UFC 298 main event. The fight will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Fans react to Ilia Topuria saying Alexander Volkanovski was a great champion

Ilia Topuria saying Alexander Volkanovski was a great champion, caught the attention of fans on social media. They went to the comment section to share their reaction to Topuria’s statement.

Alexander Volkanovski takes on Ilia Topuria at UFC 298
Alexander Volkanovski takes on Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 (via IMAGO)

Here are some of the reactions from X:

https://twitter.com/fitjen95/status/1757890543504265692
https://twitter.com/ACS0108/status/1757918124144464199

Ilia Topuria’s statement definitely amused fans on the internet. Some fans cheered Topuria’s bold and confident nature. However, many comments criticized Topuria’s bold statements. One user wrote that if Topuria did not win this fight at UFC 298, it would ruin any future build-ups for his fights. Meanwhile, another user wrote that Topuria was up for a humbling experience in the hands of Volkanovski. It will be interesting to see who walks out of the octagon with the championship belt at UFC 298.

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