UFC Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is gearing up to "humble" Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on February 17.
The Australian star will be defending his title for the sixth consecutive time. His latest title defense was a third-round TKO victory over Yair Rodriguez in July.
Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has won all six of his UFC appearances, four of which concluded inside the distance. Holding the No. 5 position in the UFC featherweight rankings, the 26-year-old fighter is a rising star in the division.
Topuria secured a victory against featherweight contender Josh Emmett at UFC on ABC 5 last June. His performance was deemed one of the most dominant in UFC history, securing a 10-7 judges' score.
"El Matador" has high hopes for the upcoming UFC 298 headliner, predicting a first-round finish. Likewise, "The Great" is also determined to be the one to hand Topuria's first loss.
"He's a powerful dude, he's good everywhere. He's not one-dimensional, he's obviously very well-rounded," said Volkanovski.
"I just believe my skills and my understanding of the game is just gonna be that little bit too much for him."
Rescheduled showdown
Volkanovski's UFC 297 fight against Topuria was initially scheduled for January. However, the champion's knockout loss to Islam Makhachev in Abu Dhabi last month made Volkanovski have to delay his return by one month due to the concussion protocols.
"Yeah, obviously, it was scheduled for January," said Volkanovski.
"We just thought that would be a little bit too soon, you know what I mean? We want to follow all protocols and do everything right, obviously, after the last one and I'm lucky enough to have a great team around me, who've dealt with a lot of concussions in football and what-not. So I’ve got the right team around me, and we just thought that January was a little bit too soon.”
He expressed his gratitude towards the UFC and others involved for their flexibility in making the necessary adjustments.
"I think the timing will be perfect. I'll be back in there soon, but not too soon," he said.
Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) stepped up on short notice to face Makhachev in a rematch at UFC 294 after Charles Oliveira withdrew due to injury. The night was filled with violent finishes, including Makhachev's head-kick knockout win in the opening round. This marked the first time Volkanovski has been stopped since his fourth pro fight in 2013.
Although Volkanovski ended up losing in the rematch against Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC), fellow UFC featherweight Diego Lopes said it shouldn't be labeled as a "mistake." Lopes asserted that the potential reward was too significant to overlook.
"All respect to him for taking the fight on ten days' notice," he said.
"He wasn't prepared for this fight. But yeah, it was surprising to see how Makhachev finished him. I think we all expected Makhachev to wrestle him all the fight."
The rescheduling of the bout allowed Volkanovski some extra time to recover from the Makhachev defeat. The city and venue for his UFC 298 showdown against Topuria are yet to be confirmed.