"I thought it was pretty romantic" - Alexander Volkanovski reacts to Ilia Topuria dedicating roses to his opponents
Alexander Volkanovski has given his thoughts on Ilia Topuria dedicating roses to octagon opponents.
Volkanovski is seeking his sixth featherweight title defense when he faces Topuria, with their bout marking a first return to action since he suffered the devastating head kick knockout loss to Islam Makhachev last October.
For Topuria, the 28-year-old is widely considered one of the division's most impressive rising contenders. He has won won all six of his UFC bouts so far and is yet to taste defeat as a professional (14-0).
Ahead of their bout, 'El Matador' released a promotional video last year which showed him holding a matador rose and watching clips of Volkanovski.
The rose not only coinsides with his nickname but is also a common trope among bull fighters, as they are also often showered in roses by fans after if successful.
In a recent interview on mainevent, Volkanovski was asked for his thoughts on Topuria's use of roses. Whilst he understands the message, the champ joked that he found it romantic instead of intimidating:
"I don't get it, I thought it was pretty romantic...The rose thing was for the matadors so I get that but a lot of bulls take our their matadors so that's what I'm planning on doing."
Catch Volkanovski's comments here (13:30):
Alexander Volkanovski weighs in on Ilia Topuria's trash talk ahead of UFC 298 bout
Alexander Volkanvoski and Ilia Topuria will meet face-to-face in the octagon at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Ahead of their fight, Topuria has spent much of the build-up trash talking Volkanovski. 'El Matador' believes he is destined to become the featherweight champ and has regularly called out the Australian for his age and his losses to Islam Makhachev. The 28-year-old has even already added 'UFC Champion' to his bio on Instagram.
During the same interview, 'The Great' was asked for his thoughts on Topuria's actions during the build-up to their UFC 298 bout.
According to Volkanovski, he's going to lean into his age and experience to "teach" him a lesson. He said:
"I'm in really good nick. Really ready. Can't wait to put it on the line this weekend. Obviously the talk has been done, he has been doing a great job. Maybe that's what it is, maybe it's the fact that I need to be the experienced dad, you could say, I've got to teach this bloke a lesson, so maybe that's the role I'm playing. I don't know, but I'm definitely dialled in."