ANAHEIM, Calif. – Ilia Topuria has mixed feelings on granting Alexander Volkanovski an immediate rematch after claiming gold in the UFC 298 main event.
Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) became the fifth undisputed featherweight champion in company history on Saturday when he scored a violent second-round knockout of Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) at Honda Center. The result was almost exactly what Topuria predicted coming in, and although some may have doubted him, he knew he would eventually land a big shot and take home the belt.
“I don’t need the judges,” Topuria told MMA Junkie and other reporters post-fight at UFC 298. “When I’m fighting, they can go and take their time to break and rest a little bit. The guy was really fast – very fast jabs. His movements, his kicks – he surprised me a little bit. It took me a little bit of time to study him and I had to knock him out in the second round (instead of the first).
