A highly anticipated featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria goes down this weekend at UFC 298.
Both men were as entertaining as it gets at the Pre-fight Press Conference, trading jabs back and forth and even getting face-to-face before their official face-off. Volkanovski showed up wearing an old-man outfit, a jab at Topuria and comments online about his age.
Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria Get Heated Early
The crowd sided early with the champ, booing Topuria anytime he picked up the mic. Topuria picked up quickly on the choice of outfit, telling the champion that he was already preparing for retirement. The champion responded by saying he’d “make this look easy” and would continue to hold his belt after their fight. Being called a “Conor McGregor wannabe” by Volkanovski might have given Topuria an idea for some antics later in the press conference.
The challenger’s confidence didn’t change whatsoever and had stayed the same throughout the fight week.
“I represent the new generation of Mixed Martial Arts. After this Saturday night, I’m gonna change the whole game of mixed martial arts.”
The Georgian was not a fan of the booing, proclaiming “You all will become instant fans so shut the f*** up right now“.
After Topuria said he would “show up on Saturday and squash him (Volkanovski)”, the champion was caught acting like he was sleeping. This was a trend that continued throughout the press conference. Ilia stated that he would take Volkanovski out in Round 1, which many fans disagreed loudly with.
Ilia Topuria Takes the Belt From the Volkanovski
When the champion was asked about getting the belt wrapped around his waist, Topuria stood up and took the belt off the table from in front of Volkanovski. The two came face-to-face before Volkanovski told the Georgian “You may as well take advantage of it now, you’re never gonna see it again… Maybe one day you can be a great champion, I’ll kick your a** first, you’ll learn your lesson. Maybe you can bounce back after that, but until then, get your hands off my belt.”
This led right into the official face-off, where Volkanovski slowly walked across the stage to exaggerate his character. The face-off consisted solely of Ilia Topuria talking while the champ listened while shaking his head. Being the stand-up guy he is, Alexander Volkanovski just reached down and shook the challenger’s hand. The two then faced the crowd where the champion received much love from the fans in Anaheim. As Topuria walked off the stage, Volkanovski let out a big scream which fired the crowd up and ended the press conference.
Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight champion against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in just TWO days! Tune in on PPV to watch this historic clash between two titans of the 145-pound division.
Do you think Ilia Topuria can back up his trash talk on Saturday night? Or does Alexander Volkanovski continue his claim for featherweight GOAT status? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured Image Credit to Embed from Getty Images
