"That was a clean right hand” - Alexander Volkanovski dismisses suggestions that he came back too soon to face Ilia Topuria
Alexander Volkanovski suffered his first career defeat at featherweight when he faced off against surging contender Ilia Topuria this weekend.
The pair met in the main event of UFC 298, with the Australian returning to defend his title after being knocked out by Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in October 2023.
It was the first KO defeat of Volkanovski's UFC career, and there were concerns that he was returning to face Topuria too soon after his loss to the lightweight champion.
Those concerns were dismissed by former champion Michael Bisping prior to the fight. However, following his knockout loss to 'El Matador', the former featherweight king was asked if he felt any lingering effects of his UFC 294 fight whilst facing the Spaniard.
During his post-fight press conference, 'The Great' said:
"Nah, look. You can't take anything away from Topuria. If he puts a hand on you like that, you're gonna go down. I don't care, that's just that. That was a clean right hand. I think no matter who you are, [if] you let one of those land on your chin while you're caught [against the fence], you're probably going down. So don't let him catch you, that's what that was. He caught me, I won't take anything away from him."
Watch Alexander Volkanovski's interview below from 1:30:
Ilia Topuria shares what surprised him about fighting Alexander Volkanovski
UFC 298 saw surging contender Ilia Topuria realize his destiny against the formidable Alexander Volkanovski.
'The Great' was hoping to successfully defend his featherweight title for a sixth time but came unstuck in Round 2 of their main event clash. The Spaniard is known for having show-stopping power, and when he pressured his opponent against the cage, he found an opening to land a perfect right hand.
The punch knocked Volkanovski out cold, handing him his second consecutive knockout defeat.
Following the bout, 'El Matador' was interviewed by ESPN MMA, where he reflected on his title victory, as well as what surprised him about fighting the Australian.
Topuria said:
"He surprised me. He was very fast with his jabs, his movement. The way he was standing in the cage, he surprised me a little bit. It took me a little bit of time to study him inside the cage. But at the end of the day, we did the job."
Watch Topuria discuss fighting Alexander Volkanovski below from 1:05: