Since Ilia Topuria dethroned Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 this February speculation has arisen about his future. There have been rumblings of a rematch with Volkanovski in Spain and many other possibilities.
Ilia Topuria and Rematching Volk
After the defeat Volkanovski has been adamant that he wants a rematch. He has made this clear in many medians such as the post fight press conference as well as on his Youtube channel. This is a fair request Volkanovski has been a dominant champion at featherweight defending the belt 5 times against stellar opposition. However, the manner of when the rematch will take place is in question.
Ilia has not spoke much about a date and seems content to wait. This suits Volkanovski who after the loss made it clear he wanted to take some time out post loss. This is in an effort to allow himself to recover after back-to-back KO losses. Ilia’s only request regarding his next fight is it takes place in Spain. An event in Spain does sound enticing with European fans proving their metal in England and France with how supportive they are. Ilia has also become a star in Spain after defeating the all time great and likely would sell out an entire stadium.
Speculation arose when UFC 305 was announced taking place in Perth in August. It would make sense for the rematch to take place in Australia Volk being an Australian star. Also, this date suits Volk giving him 6 months of recovery. But Ilia has shut this down declining to fight the Aussie in his home turf. The champ said in an interview “why would I go to defend my belt in my rival’s house” a reasonable complaint. With Topuria being champion it would be more fitting to fight in a neutral location such as the US or his home Spain.
In the same interview Ilia said that he is travelling to Miami soon to finalise his next fight with the UFC. This will likely be the Volkanovski rematch in Spain however there are other options for the Spaniard.
Topuria’s Other Options Before The Rematch
Volkanovski has made it clear he wants a rematch however he has not made it clear when. He has stated multiple times that he is more than happy to let Ilia defend against other contenders before the rematch. This gives Topuria a lot of flexibility for his next fight.
One option for Ilia Topuria is a Max Holloway fight. Holloway is currently preoccupied fighting Gaethje at UFC 300 but he may be ready afterwards. Depending on the aftermath of the fight Holloway could be ready to fight towards the end of the year. Regardless if Holloway loses to Gaethje or wins he is still the number 1 contender at featherweight so an Ilia matchup isn’t unreasonable. But Max may stay at 155 if he wins and will likely take damage against Justin win or lose so will be out for a bit. Also Max is a dangerous fight for Ilia being another all time great who has the striking to match Ilia. But beating Max would be great for Topuria’s resume and isn’t unrealistic considering how he dispatched Volk
Topuria could also potentially fight Mosvar Evloev. Evloev is a fresh contender beating Arnold Allen at UFC 297. Evloev didn’t take much damage against Allen and is ranked in the top 5. Mosvar is also a pretty good match up for Ilia only having the threat of wrestling . So, a fight against Evloev would provide Topuria with a relatively easy defence and a way to stay busy whilst waiting for Volkanovski.
An O’Malley fight has also been tossed around post beating Chito. But this has been shut down by Ilia believing O’Malley should defend against Merab. This fight also wouldn’t make much sense both fighters only just becoming champions. And as such should focus on defending their belts against contenders in their own weight classes.
So we may have an Ilia Topuria fight announcement soon but we shall just have to sit back and wait.
