Ilia Topuria responds to Alexander
Volkanovski requesting a quick turnaround from him for their
rematch:“Right now he’s gonna have to wait for my time. Right now I’m the
one who chooses the time and place.Advertisement
I choose everything.”
🎥 @ufcontnt
#UFC308pic.twitter.com/7gCt5WIG1b— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS)
October 27, 2024
Ilia
Topuria wants a rematch with Alexander
Volkanovski next, but the reigning featherweight champion plans
on dictating the terms of their engagment.
Topuria dethroned Volkanovski via knockout at UFC 298 this past
February. The undefeated champ then put his strap on the line for
the first time against Max
Holloway at UFC 308
on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Backing his words up
with action, Topuria scored a third-round knockout win over
Holloway, who had never been stopped by strikes before in his
entire career.
Volkanovski, who was in attendance for the event, subsequently
entered the Octagon to call for a rematch against Topuria. While
Diego
Lopes’ name was also pitched to Topuria as a potential
opponent, “El Matador” expressed interest in running it back with
Volkanovski.
An ideal card for that potential matchup would the UFC’s debut in
Spain, which could take place sometime in 2025. While Volkanovski
admits that the Georgian-Spaniard champ has earned the right to
fight in his backyard, he doesn’t want to wait too long for the
rematch.
“I love Sydney and I want to fight in Sydney, but Madrid sounds
good, too,” Volkanovski told reporters after UFC 308. “As long as I’m
not waiting too long, that’s the big problem for me. I’d love for
[Topuria] to have his moment in Spain, and we’ll fight there and
that. Hopefully we’re not waiting years. That’s the only problem.
If they can get that done as soon as possible, you know what I
mean, he deserves it.”
Meanwhile, Topuria reiterated that he considers “The Great” the
next rightful title contender. However, the champ wants to call
every shot regarding that bout.
“Right now, he’s gonna have to wait til my time,” Topuria told
reporters. “Right now I’m the one who chooses the time, the place —
I choose everything. Right now I’m the champion, he’s the
challenger… I respect him, too. He deserves the shot. No one else
deserves the shot more in the featherweight division than
Volk.”