UFC 298 will witness the best featherweight fighter, Alexander Volkanovski, defend his title against rising prodigy Ilia Topuria. The 35-year-old former rugby player is yet to be defeated in the division. His opponent, Ilia Topuria, is also unbeaten and holds a perfect record of 14-0-0 to date.

‘El Matador’ has taken the division by storm after his recent performances inside the Octagon and is high on confidence before his title fight. But what does ‘Volk’ feel about his opponent’s confidence before their title fight? Let us delve into the details to determine what the champion has to say.

‘The Great’ questions Topuria’s work ethics before UFC 298

Ilia Topuria is fresh off a victory against Josh Emmett at UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Topuria. The 27-year-old Spaniard won the fight via decision and thus earned his opportunity for a title shot against ‘The Great’. While Topuria has impressed many with his fighting skills, his outspoken nature has gathered a lot of attention lately. Volkanovski seemed a bit upset with the challenger in a recent YouTube video.

During the interview the Aussie was asked whether he was disrespected by the challenger to which the 35-year-old replied: “Look man he’s probably playing this game like and which is fine . So uh that’s good I think. But I mean it’s just I just hope that he’s just playing the game and he’s not really like that. Cuz if he definitely wants to say if he’s a good kind and he’s just playing the game. He’s not going about it the right way.”

“I think this is going to mess up maybe he’s I am going to play the game but I think it’s still got into his head. I don’t even know how much he’s in the gym. You know looks like he just does his own little sessions here and there and has a bunch of yes men around him.” 

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Volkanovski is making a comeback in the featherweight division after a brief stint in the lightweight division. The 35-year-old faced Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in the lightweight division. However, he lost the fight via a brutal head kick, ending his chance of becoming a two-division champion. Before his UFC 298 clash, he shared the effect the kick had on his well-being.

Alexander Volkanovski claims he was concussed by the kick

Alexander Volkanovski recently appeared on teammate Israel Adesanya’s YouTube channel. During the interview, he spoke to ‘Izzy’s’ brother, David, and shared his experience of the devastating knockout. The former rugby player surprised everyone when he decided to move up a division to take on Islam Makhachev. He took on the fight at a notice of ten days and lacked the required preparation. During the interview ‘Volk’ shared how he recovered from the brutal knockout.

Volkanovski said: “Yeah, all good. Like, so I’m lucky enough to have a great team behind me that, they’ve dealt with lots of concussions through the rugby league, and… we tried to follow UFC protocols. And they did a great job… We had more than enough time.” The featherweight champion also revealed that this was the first time he was concussed in his career. However, with the help of his teammates, he was able to recover quickly.

While the Aussie had very little time to prepare for his fight against Makhachev and was also allegedly guilty of indulging in drinking, this time around he looks like a man on mission and has notched up his preparation. Will the 35-year-old be able to ‘humble’ the challenger? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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