UFC 298 will witness Ilia Topuria go for the featherweight title against the best fighter in the division, Alexander Volkanovski. The 27-year-old is still unbeaten in the division and is a force to reckon with inside the Octagon. ‘ El Matador’ currently holds a perfect record of 14-0, and many believe he is the favorite for the title.

While Topuria currently sits at the top of the division, his earlier days were not as smooth as it is now. The UFC 298 Countdown posted on YouTube throws some light on the challenges faced by the Spaniard. Let us delve into the details to find out how ‘El Matador’ rose through the ranks.

Ilia Topuria shares his experience of his earlier days in Georgia

Beating Volkanovski is the highest set bar for every featherweight fighter on the planet, and Ilia Topuria feels he is the one destined to dethrone ‘The Great.’ 27-year-old Topuria is currently a permanent resident of Alicante, Spain, but his journey began in Germany born to Georgian parents. During his initial days, he suffered a lot of hardships and before his fight at UFC 298, he shared his journey with the fans.

In the YouTube video uploaded by UFC, Topuria said: “Back then, it was a bit hard to find opportunities in Georgia. So my parents decided to come to Spain, and when I turned fifteen, I could finally join them. I practiced Greco-Roman wrestling in Georgia, and when we got there, we wanted to keep doing that. I trained at Climent Club, where they also taught mixed martial arts. From the moment I walked in there, some sort of energy took hold of me. That was my destiny. “

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Topuria has already taken the division by storm and has put up some stellar performances inside the Octagon. The outspoken Spaniard has already indulged in a verbal spat with the champion and even called him ‘old’. While ‘ El Matador’ seems supremely confident about his chances of winning, UFC insider Michael Bisping has a different take on the matchup.

Michael Bisping applauds Volkanovski’s ground game

35-year-old Alexander Volkanovksi is yet to be defeated in the 145 lbs division. While Topuria seems very confident of winning his match, Michael Bisping has some words of advice for the 27-year-old. Bisping, the former UFC champion and Hall of Famer, in his recent YouTube video compared both the fighters before their battle at UFC 298. Topuria impressed Bisping with his explosiveness and technique while going for takedowns. However, he highlighted the fact as to how ‘Volk’ defended the takedowns against the best grappler, Islam Makhachev, at UFC 284.

Bisping said: “But you gotta remember Volkanovski just fought Isam Makhachev twice in a row, okay. And in the first one where he had a full camp he gave Islam everything he could handle. He was able to nullify almost everything. He was able to get his own takedowns, he could drop him… So if Islam couldn’t take full advantage and that’s with him stepping up a weight class, then I think Topuria struggles there. Jiu-Jitsu-wise I think the same kind of rules or things that I just said, the points that I made kind of apply as well,”. 

While Topuria will be desperate to keep his perfect record going, Volkanovski will step inside the Octagon to keep his legacy going. Who will win the fight at UFC 298? Let us know in the comments.

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