Ilia Topuria rules out possibility of defending his title against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 312: "That's never going to happen"
Ilia Topuria last entered the octagon in February as he defeated Alexander Volkanovski via second-round knockout to capture the featherweight title. 'El Matador' is set to return this weekend as he looks to defend his belt against Max Holloway at UFC 308.
While 'The Great' has not competed since suffering his first career loss at 145 pounds, he has expressed an interest in fighting the winner of this weekend's clash at UFC 312 in Sydney, Australia. Topuria ruled out that possibility, noting that he would not defend his title in hostile territory. Speaking at the UFC 308 media day, the featherweight champion stated:
"If that makes him feel happy thinking that, maybe, I will go to Australia, that's okay, but in myself, that's never going to happen. I am the champion and if you want to fight for the title again, it has to be in Madrid instead of fighting in Australia in front of your people. Why would I want to give you that advantage?"
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments on facing Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 312 in Sydney below:
Topuria expressed interest in being the first fighter to bring the UFC to Spain. He previously shared that, while nothing is set in stone, he is in talks with the promotion to hold his next title defense in the nation in early 2025, provided that he gets past Holloway this weekend.
Ilia Topuria believes he will hand Max Holloway his second loss via finish
Ilia Topuria has been very confident throughout his mixed martial arts career - and for good reason as he is undefeated, having finished 13 of his 15 opponents. He recently revealed that he believes he will get another finish against Max Holloway at UFC 308 this weekend. Speaking to Kevin Iole, 'El Matador' claimed:
"He's never faced someone like me. Never, ever. The moment when I'm going to take him down, if that happens, if I don't knock him out before, I don't think he's going to be able to stop my submissions. Trust me, I'm very, very good on the ground. I think I'm better on the ground than in the striking. The thing is that people never saw my ground game because I didn't need it in my UFC career."
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments on submitting Max Holloway below:
Holloway has been finished just once in his MMA career. That was back at UFC 143 in February 2012 as Dustin Poirier defeated a 21-year-old 'Blessed' via first-round submission in his promotional debut and just his fifth career bout.