'I think he’s great' - Alexander Volkanovski impressed with Ilia Topuria willing to fight him for UFC featherweight title

Alexander Volkanovski, the UFC featherweight champion, recently commented on Ilia Topuria's early efforts and seems eager to challenge him for the featherweight championship. Topuria clashed against Josh Emmett in the main event of UFC on ABC 5 in Florida last weekend. 

On his way to a unanimous decision victory and a remarkable 50-42 scorecard, "El Matador" put on a striking display, completely destroying Emmett. Ilia Topuria, who is currently 14 games unbeaten, demanded a matchup with Max Holloway in Spain or a title opportunity versus Volkanovski. However, Volkanovski appreciated Topuria a lot and said that he is a great fighter.

“I’m hearing a lot of people mentioning other guys, Ilia fighting other guys – I’m like, ‘No, don’t do it. Just give me a guy. Give me a contender. To be honest, I’m not going to say too much. I think he’s a good fighter. But the more I speak, the less I’m going to hype up the fight. I think he’s great.” Volkanovski was quoted as saying by MMA Junkie.

I’ve got Yair to worry about: Alexander Volkanovski

Talking about Volkanovski, he was last seen in the octagon against the lightweight champion Islam Makhachev where he faced a controversial defeat at UFC 284. He will be back in action against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 in the UFC featherweight championship title clash. Volkanovski talked about the upcoming fight and said that he is currently focusing on that only.

“I think it’s a great fight and that would work well on some people, but won’t work well on others. I want (new) guys. I want to be active. I was at a stage where I was like, ‘Give me the No. 1 guy.’ We’ve sort of cleared them. Everyone’s raving about this guy. I’ve got Yair to worry about. I’ll worry about that first because I see him as a much bigger threat than Ilia. I’ll make sure I go out there and do my business, and if that’s on the cards – again, I want to be active.” he said.