Jorge Climent thinks Alexander Volkanovski should avoid taking an immediate rematch against his pupil, Ilia Topuria, at all costs.
Coach Climent, who coaches Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) along with brother Agustin Climent, thinks Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) should really consider taking a tuneup fight before trying to avenge his championship defeat to “El Matador.”
It’s not that Climent is looking to avoid the Australian or even just pursue other opportunities with Topuria. He genuinely thinks that it’s a bad idea for the 35-year-old to try to rematch Topuria right away given his current form.
“I do believe that Volkanovski deserves a rematch for everything he’s done in this sport, plus the short-notice fight he took,” Climent told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “However, if I were his team or his friend, I’d tell him, ‘Look, relax. Go get another fight to get back on your feet, go feel good again, win, and then we go after him.’ That would be the smartest thing he could do. And again, if I were his friend, that’s what I’d recommend him.”
Climent says it’s not a matter of deserving or not. He does believe Volkanovski should be granted a rematch should he want to exercise that option, but he just wouldn’t advise it.
Topuria knocked out Volkanovski to win the featherweight title last month at UFC 298. It was Volkanovski’s second straight KO loss after, four months prior, he was stopped by Islam Makhachev at UFC 294.
“Of course Volkanovski deserves it, but I would find it unfair,” Climent explained. “He’s coming off two defeats, and I don’t see him recovered enough to go for the immediate rematch. That’s why, if I were his friend, I’d tell him, ‘Take it easy, go do another fight, get your confidence back up, and we’ll do it again.'”
Either way, what’s fair is fair, and Climent is not ruling out an immediate rematch with Volkanovski for Topuria’s first title defense. At 145 pounds, he thinks it’s between Volkanovski or former UFC champion Max Holloway.
“I think Volkanovski and Holloway deserve it most,” Climent said. “After that, it’s pretty even among everyone else. I think those two are the ones that most deserve to fight for the title – Holloway and Volkanovski.”
