Ilia Topuria has identified a strength that could be key for his title hopes.
The UFC’s pay-per-view schedule for the first quarter of 2024 has started to come together with the announcement of three championship headliners, the second of which will see Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria collide.
At UFC 298 next February, the undefeated Ilia Topuria will become the latest challenge in the lengthy reign of Alexander Volkanovski. Although the Australian has fallen short of the lightweight gold on two occasions, he’s ruled over the 145-pound landscape since 2019.
In five defenses, Alexander Volkanovski has defeated the man he took the crown from, Max Holloway, a further two times and withstood the threats posed by Brian Ortega, “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, and Yair Rodríguez.
But “El Matador” is confident of avoiding a place next to those names in the list of Volkanovski’s victims, largely thanks to one key “advantage” he expects to have come fight night.
Ilia Topuria: Grappling Will Be The ‘Difference’ Against Alexander Volkanovski
During a recent appearance on the OverDogs Podcast, Ilia Topuria looked ahead to his first opportunity at title glory on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage, which comes on the back of dominant victories over Bryce Mitchell and Josh Emmett in his last two Octagon outings.
While Ilia Topuria’s striking talents were on full display against the latter, the Georgian-Spaniard showed his well-rounded skillset with a strong grappling performance against “Thug Nasty.”
And it’s on the ground where “El Matador” is expecting the path with least resistance to be against Alexander Volkanovski. With that in mind, he’s training accordingly.
“I just went back to my backgrounds. I’m doing a lot of grappling, a lot of wrestling, because that is where I really think that I have the advantage with him,” Ilia Topuria said. “He is a good striker, but he’s not a natural wrestler or he’s not good on the ground. That is where I’m gonna make a difference.”
A common narrative leading into Volkanovski’s featherweight return is set to surround the relatively quick turnaround from his defeat to Islam Makhachev last month in Abu Dhabi, specifically how the knockout may affect him.
But although many are expecting Ilia Topuria to test the Aussie’s chin, the challenger seemingly isn’t placing too much emphasis on the champ’s recent defeat on the feet.