At UFC 298 Ilia Topuria is sure he can defeat Alexander Volkanovski. Actually, “El Matador” is already planning for his upcoming fight, which will be against former featherweight champion Max Holloway.
There is a date and venue for UFC 298’s featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski’s championship matchup with Ilia Topuria.
On February 17 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) will try to win his sixth championship defense against unbeaten Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).
Which Fighter Will Ilia Topuria Fight After Defeating Alexander Volkanovski In UFC 298?
Volkanovski, who lost to lightweight title Islam Makhachev twice at UFC 294; will make a comeback to featherweight. In their first fight at UFC 284, Volkanovski drove Makhachev to the limit with a full training camp; nevertheless, he entered for a second chance in Abu Dhabi last month with less than two weeks’ notice. In the rematch, Volkanovski was eliminated in the first round.
When Topuria joined the UFC in 2020, he appeared to be quite dominant. The fighter from Georgia outclassed Josh Emmett in the main event of the UFC on ABC 5 to secure his third consecutive bonus after winning four straight decisions over Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, Jai Herbert, and Bryce Mitchell.
During an interview with the “Overdogs Podcast” on November 21, Topuria discussed his goals for featherweight: “I’m gonna beat [Volkanovski] now on February 17,” Topuria announced. “And then I’m gonna fight with Max Holloway here in Spain.”
Should this transpire, it would be the inaugural UFC event held in Spain. Should Topuria triumph and defend his championship against Holloway, it would mean that “Blessed” would need to either terminate his career before April/May 2024 or find a method to win a bout before then.
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There aren’t many viable choices at featherweight in the rankings, and Holloway isn’t slated for a fight right now. Holloway might decide to go up to lightweight in order to maintain his featherweight classification.
Editors pick
