UFC 298 witnessed some of the most anticipated fights. The Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria fights were the highlights of the Anaheim, California event. Ilia Topuria clinched the featherweight title from ‘Volk’ extending his winning streak to 15 wins in a row.
The Georgian-Spainard secured the victory, and now Topuria is the favorite in the division, with his rankings even being upgraded in the process. Topuria has debuted in the UFC’s P4P ranking while on the other hand, Volkanovski got the beating at the high table. So how did the rankings change for the fighters? Let’s find out
Ilia Topuria gets a seat at the high table
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Alexander Volkanovski was close to getting the UFC’s P4P rank 1 status, however, his back-to-back defeats against Islam Makhachev and Topuria resulted in a different outcome. ‘Volk’ was thinking of increasing his chances to make things better by defeating Topuria but ‘El Matador’ shocked the world by knocking out ‘Volk’ in the second round thus clinching the featherweight gold.
With this loss, “Volk’ extended his losing streak to 2 fights. ‘Volk’ has now lost three fights out of his last four outings. In the newest rankings, the rising star Ilia Topuria has entered the official #UFC pound-for-pound ran͏kings at an impressive No. 5 after securin͏g a remarkable title win at #UFC298. Meanwhile, Alexander Volkan͏ovski has slipped to No. 7 on the P4P list but ͏still holds the top contender spot in the 145-pound division.͏
New champ Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) makes his debut on the official #UFC pound-for-pound rankings at No. 5 following his impressive title win at #UFC298.
Alexander Volkanovski slips to No. 7 on the P4P list but remains the No. 1 contender at 145 pounds. pic.twitter.com/qTjdO8Eapi
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) February 20, 2024
Interestingly, Topuria has etched ahead of Dricus Du Plessis, Sean O’Malley, and Alexandre Pantoja at the P4p rankings. Ilia Topuria has now etched ahead of many fighters but can he keep on with his undefeated record? What next for the newly crowned champion? Let us find out.
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Topuria is in for a rollercoaster ride at the featherweight division
Multiple challenges are waiting for the new champion. The featherweight division is probably the most stacked division on the UFC and Topuria might be on a defensive spree from now on. The new champion had previously stated that he is expecting new blood from challengers such as Movsar Evloev and Calvin Kattar, however, other fighters are waiting to dethrone the champ.
Topuria has agreed to provide Volkanovski an immediate rematch but the happening of this fight depends upon Dana White. On the other hand, Evloev has already challenged Topuria for the match and in response ‘El Matador’ stated that he should finish some fighters before he could challenge him.
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Conor McGregor, Brian Ortega, and Max Holloway may be in the cards but the happening-non-happening of their fight depends upon Topuria’s as well as White’s plan. Who do you think would be the best match for Topuria? Tell us about your opinion in the comments below.