"He is a beast" - Giga Chikadze reveals who he'll be rooting for in upcoming title clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria
UFC featherweight contender Giga Chikadze has backed Ilia Topuria to cause the upset and dethrone Alexander Volkanovski.
The two featherweights will collide for the title at UFC 298 in February next year. Topuria is heading into the fight still undefeated as a professional (14-0), whereas Volkanovski is looking to bounce back from his head-kick KO loss to Islam Makhachev in October.
Chikadze, who himself is looking to make a push for the title, currently finds himself ranked No. 8 in the featherweight rankings. He last fought Alex Caceres back in August, handedly picking up the unanimous decision win.
'Ninja' recently appeared on the JAXXON podcast, where he was asked about the upcoming featherweight title clash.
Chikadze, who is close friends with Ilia Topuria, stated that he expects his friend to pick up the win. He believes 'El Matador' is still widely underrated by fans and fighters and noted that he doesn't have a weakness to his game for Volkanovski to exploit. He said:
"Ilia is a beast! He has everything. People don't know how good he is in BJJ. He is very good at wrestling and he has insane power in his hands. I will be there in the first rows to cheer for Ilia!"
Catch Chikadze's comments here:
Ilia Topuria weighs in on Alexander Volkanovski's KO loss to Islam Makhachev
Ilia Topuria believes Alexander Volkanovski's KO defeat to Islam Makhachev has handed him the advantage in their upcoming UFC 298 clash.
'The Great' suffered a shocking defeat in the first round of his bout against Makhachev. While the result was understandably devastating, fans of the Australian believe the short-notice nature of the bout played a big factor. Volkanovski accepted the bout against Makhachev on just over 10 days notice.
Despite that, Topuria believes the recent taste of defeat for Volkanovski will play a big factor in their fight next year. Speaking to Kanpai Media, Ilia Topuria highlighted how he remains undefeated, whereas 'The Great' has suffered two losses in his last three fights. He said:
"He has really nothing to lose, he already lost. He already knows how that feels, I don't know how that feels and I better never taste how that's going to feel."
Catch Topuria's comments here (48:50):