Despite Lip-Smacking Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski Rematch Prospect, Dana White and Co. Close to Spoiling Australian’s Double Champ Plan With UFC 297 Fight

Alexander Volkanovski last defended his featherweight title at UFC 290, where he dispatched Yair Rodriguez. Subsequently, we had no confirmations regarding his next fight. However, a recent revelation by Ilia Topuria suggests that he may be next in line for a title shot. Moreover, the fight might take place on UFC’s return to Canada.

After Alexander Volkanovksi’s fight against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284, Dana White expressed his interest in a rematch between the two. However, Ilia Topuria revealed that he might step in to fight before ‘The Great’ gets another go at the lightweight champion. Let’s see what he had to say.

Will Alexander Volkanovski face Ilia Topuria next?

Fighting out of Alicante in Spain, Ilia Topuria is undefeated with 14 wins and 0 losses. Moreover, since joining the UFC, ‘El Matador’ has racked up a 6-fight winning streak, which has brought him into title contention. As such, we might see him fighting Alexander Volkanovski for the title next.

As per reports by an MMA social media handle ‘MMA Orbit’, The UFC could be in the works for a fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria. The Georgian-Spanish star recently made an appearance in a Spanish TV show and revealed that there are a few things getting done behind the scenes for a featherweight title fight.

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Moreover, Ilia Topuria mentioned he is expecting to fight the Aussie star when the UFC returns to Canada for another pay-per-view event. He claimed that the featherweight title fight could take place at UFC 297 in Toronto. However, it begs the question of what will happen to the plans for the rematch between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski.

Is Volkanovski’s rematch against Islam Makhachev at stake?

UFC 284’s main event fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev was one of the best fights of the year. The Australian took the Dagestan native to his limit. ‘The Great’ came close to defeating Makhachev, but lost the fight via unanimous decision, which prompted people to believe that he was robbed of a win. However, Dana White later assured that he liked the idea of a rematch.

However, the UFC stated that the rematch would not take place right away. Given that Volkanovski had already fought and won his last fight, the consensus was to pit him against Makhachev after the latter’s UFC 294 fight. However, it does not seem like that is going to happen anytime soon since the UFC could have other plans.

Regardless of what the initial plan was, it is safe to say that Ilia Topruia has earned the title after an impressive run since joining Dana White’s promotion. He’s defeated the likes of Bryce Mitchell and Josh Emmett to get the position of getting a title shot. We will have to wait and see how that pans out when he eventually enters the Octagon against the formidable Alexander Volkanovski.

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