"Volk's got something up his sleeve" - Fans react as Alexander Volkanovski is set to be in corner of Ilia Topuria's brother's opponent next week
Ilia Topuria entered the octagon last October as he defeated Max Holloway via third-round knockout at UFC 308 to defend his featherweight title for the first time. While it has not been officially announced, he is rumored to be in line to make his return against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314 in April - in a rematch of their UFC 298 clash which 'El Matador' won via second-round knockout to claim the title.
Topuria's older brother, Aleksandre Topuria, is set to make his UFC debut next month as he takes on Colby Thicknesse at UFC 312. 'The Great' will reportedly be in the corner of his teammate. Championship Rounds shared the news on Wednesday, posting:
"🚨 Alexander Volkanovski will be in Colby Thicknesse's corner next week for his fight against Aleksandre Topuria, Ilia Topuria's brother 👀 [per @FOXSportsAUS] #UFC312"
Check out the post from Championship Rounds below:
Fans shared their reaction to the news. @DonSatoshi3 suggested that Volkanovski has something up his sleeve:
"Volks got something up his sleeve ðŸ˜"
@OceanicMMA noted that it is not the first time he has cornered Thicknesse:
"I mean, I don’t see why he wouldn’t be in his corner… it’s not the first time 😂"
@TeslaSkyz claimed that the elder Topuria will get a knockout finish:
"Topuria's brother has identical boxing skills as Ilia. That dude's getting KO'd."
@MakrSupremacy questioned what Volkanovski is up to:
"👀 👀 👀 what this bald fuck up to again"
Check out the best fan reactions below:
Bo Nickal claims Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski will take place at UFC 314
After suffering his first career loss at featherweight, it was clear that Alexander Volkanovski would receive an opportunity to reclaim his title in his next bout. Bo Nickal recently shared that 'The Great' will rematch Ilia Topuria at UFC 314, stating:
"They just announced Ilia and Volk. UFC [314], April... I don't know about Ilia and Volk rematch. I mean, I get it, Volk had to rematch [Max] Holloway a bunch of times. He knocked him out clean. Bad. Bad. I love Volk, he's great, I don't see a path to victory there for him really... It's official. I know for a fact. I don't know that it was announced for a fact, but I know it's happening for a fact. I'm announcing it."
Check out Bo Nickal's comments on Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski below:
Volkanovski would have had over a year away from the octagon to recover from the knockout. While that is far more recovery time than the four months he took off before their first matchup, which followed a knockout loss to Islam Makhachev, it is unclear how it will affect his performance.