At the focal point of the UFC 298 event, Ilia Topuria surprised to defeat Alexander Volkanovski in the second half. At the age of 27, he held the UFC belt of weight Featherweight.
Speaking after losing to Topuria, Volkanovski said: “I have kept the championship for a long time, and now I want to rematch. That's what I need to take, because I think I deserve it.” Topuria also said he accepted the challenge from the former champion.
In September, Volkanovski will turn 36. He held a record with a series of 12 consecutive matches in the 2016-2022 period. Volkanovski won the championship from Max Holloway in 2019, and had 5 successful defense. However, in the past 1 year, he could not maintain that impressive performance.
Since the beginning of 2023, Volkanovski decided to step up the Lightweight with the ambition to overthrow Islam Makhachev. It was also the time when Volkanovski went down to his form. He lost the last 3/4 matches. The need to play 4 matches in 1 year also makes this boxer not guarantee physical competition continuously.
On the side of Ilia Topuria, the boxer of Gruzia and Spain showed that he was becoming a new star of UFC. The victory over Volkanovski helped Topuria to extend the series of winnings to 15. He was like the new Conor McGregor, and the expectation of becoming the focus of attention to the audience.