“Volk will finish him” – Ilia Topuria’s championship preps in doubt as Real Madrid diverts focus before Alexander Volkanovski clash leaving fans skeptical

Alexander Volkanovski takes on the unbeaten Ilia Topuria for a title defense, at UFC 298 in February, in Los Angeles. In his last outing, Volkanovski faced a knockout skid to the lightweight king, Islam Makhachev, at UFC 294. The featherweight champion had previously stated his long resolve to stay active as much as he can. Hence, reeling from an emotional loss, he aspires to be ready for the next matchup.

Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria and his partner were at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium recently. The UFC fighter, who is a fan of the sport, was attending the Real Madrid vs. Napoli in the UEFA Champions League. This has caught the attention of fans. One prime reaction reacted to his post saying,

 This is why Volk will finish him.

At UFC 290, Volkanovski overcame Yair Rodriguez to unify the featherweight and interim golds. In the aftermath of the fight, he had a sensational face-off with Topuria, who is 14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC. Volkanovski had warned off that he aims to rectify that “zero” into a win. The match has been gaining traction since then.

Volkanovski also aimed at a two-glory win; at UFC 284, and then at the rematch against Makhachev. The match and subsequent skid left him emotionally exhausted from the effort. But the fighter is ready to reel back for more, as is his opponent.

Fans react to Ilia Topuria attending UEFA Champions League ahead of UFC 298

Ilia Topuria squares off against Alexander Volkanovski for the 145lbs gold, headlining the UFC 298 main event, this February, as announced recently. Volkanovski, who recently faced a knockout loss to Islam Makhachev, is preparing in full force.

He has mentioned on aspiring to remain as active as he could throughout the year. Forced on the sideline with an injury earlier, he got only two major face-offs for this year. But nonetheless, he remains ready for the next.

Meanwhile, Topuria’s advancements in the build-up to the bout have been brought into question. The fighter thinks that his superior grappling and ground game would play a vital role against the featherweight.

His career had shot off with a streak of 7 submission wins. But since then, Topuria has primely shifted to definitive striking in the octagon. Recently, fans have reacted to him attending the UEFA Champions League, ahead of the bout.

While most fans are critical of him not training, others have cut him some slack. The undefeated fighter thinks Volkanovski himself would be considerably unhinged as well. After his first-round knockout at UFC 294, Topuria feels that the featherweight has nothing to lose. So he has ascertained to be ready for the opponent banking on that feeling.

In case you missed it:

• Dustin Poirier validates Alexander Volkanovski’s short-notice fight revealing harsh reality of the fight game
• “I’m next in line,” Charles Oliveira sets sights on Islam Makhachev rematch after the latter’s KO victory against Alexander Volkanovski

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