Islam Makhachev reacts to Alexander Volkanovski losing featherweight throne to Ilia Topuria in UFC 298 knockout  

Islam Makhachev has reacted to Alexander Volkanovski losing to Ilia Topuria.

Volkanovski and Topuria entered the octagon last night in what was a highly anticipated UFC featherweight title bout at UFC 298. Going into the fight, Volkanovski was a slight favorite. However, his fate wasn't a lot different from his last outing inside the octagon.

The first round saw both fighters land their fair share of clean shots and it was hard to separate the pair. In the second, Topuria continued to mount pressure on Volkanovski and caught the champion on the chin with a powerful overhand right at the end of a four-punch combo, which knocked out 'The Great'.

Reacting to Volkanovski's second-round KO loss, his former opponent Makhachev had some kind words.

Having shared the octagon twice against 'The Great' and being the person to have handed the Australian his first KO defeat, the UFC lightweight champion applauded Volkanovski for being a great champion and said:

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"Alex is undeniably one of the greatest champion in the FW division. Keep your head up and come back strong! Congrats to new champ Topuria, well done!"

Volkanovski has now suffered back-to-back stoppage defeats, to Makhachev back in October last year and against Topuria on Saturday at UFC 298. It remains to be seen how his MMA career will look moving forward.

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