Featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski looks to fend off the surging, undefeated Ilia Topuria in Anaheim this weekend at UFC 298.
Volkanovski was last seen being finished by Islam Makhachev in a second attempt to claim lightweight gold. That leaves the Australian, still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet, looking to extend his five-fight title defense streak against Topuria, coming into the bout a perfect 14-0.
Topuria has, at least in part, focused on the champ’s age (Volkanovski is 35, Topuria himself 27) ahead of their showdown. That led Volkanovski, in conjunction with a sponsor, to produce one of the most hilarious fight promos in recent memory, poking fun at himself while firing back at the criticism that he’s “too old.”
Volk's sick of all this BS about his age 😤 #UFC298@alexvolkanovski pic.twitter.com/ntbp1hujnK
— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) February 9, 2024
Quite frankly, Volkanovski has showed no sign of slowing down thus far, and was adamant after his October loss to Makhachev that he wanted to stay busy. Topuria, meanwhile, fought just once in 2023, claiming a decision victory over Josh Emmett.
Ahead of UFC 298 on Saturday, February 17, 2024, the key players from the PPV card will be on hand for the routine pre-fight press conference. One that will hopefully be better behaved, on the fans’ part at least, than the presser for UFC 297 last month in Toronto. Either way, check it out in the embed above starting at 8PM ET.
