Former UFC middleweight king Robert Whittaker has weighed in on the upcoming fight between Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria.
The featherweight matchup is all set to take place on Feb. 17 and will serve as the headliner on the UFC 298 card at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Ahead of the event, ‘The Reaper’ Robert Whittaker sat down for a chat with Megan Anderson on The Megan Anderson Show, and broke down the upcoming featherweight title bout.
Robert Whittaker said Topuria might prove to be Alexander Volkanovski’s toughest challenge to date. Whittaker stated that ‘El Matador’ matched up well with the reigning champion in all departments, and that Volkanovski’s recent KO loss at the hands of Islam Makhachev may play a factor in the bout. He said:
“I do think Alex is that good but I do also think that Topuria is going to be his hardest test. Topuria is young, hungry, he’s got every skill set Alex does… Maybe Alex coming off the last loss gives Topuria the edge he needs to just inch it over. It’s hard to say but it’s gonna be a hard fight.”
Alexander Volkanovski’s last UFC outing took place in October 2023, when he locked horns against Islam Makhachev in a rematch at UFC 294. The night did not go well for ‘The Great’ as he suffered a knockout loss in the opening round of the fight.
Check out his comments on Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria from the 7:52 mark below: