Ilia Topuria lived up the hype after delivering a brutal knockout to dethrone Alexander Volkanovski and become the new featherweight champion in the UFC 298 main event.
It was another staggering performance from the undefeated Spaniard as Topuria followed through with his promise to march Volkanovski down and put him away before the final bell. Topuria delivered the finishing blow as he forced Volkanovski back towards the cage before unloading a right hook that absolutely demolished the long reigning featherweight king.
Volkanovski crumbled to the canvas and Topuria began his celebration as he climbed to the top of the mountain at 145 pounds.
“I feel so happy,” Topuria said following his win. “They’re going to tell you, you can’t do it. They’re going to knock you down. Just trust yourself. Work tirelessly, have faith and everything is possible. Look at me now.
“I just know my skills. I work so hard. I worked so hard for this one. I knew one day I would become a UFC world champion. It doesn’t matter where you come from, if you know where you’re going. It’s much more important what’s in front of you than what’s behind you.”
In his first attempt at becoming champion, Topuria showed no fear in the face of one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC. He took the center of the cage and immediately began chipping away at Volkanovski with a series of calf kicks that set the tone for the entire fight.
It was a kick-heavy performance from Volkanovski in return as he kept looking to the head and body before going low to the legs as well. Topuria didn’t back down, although Volkanovski did manage to connect with a few jabs that opened a cut on his opponent’s nose.
Realizing that he couldn’t shy away from Topuria’s power too much, Volkanovski began upping his volume and that allowed him to start to swing the momentum in his favor. It was short-lived success, however, as Topuria continued head hunting with a slick left-right combination that kept landing clean.
The ability to walk Volkanovski down with little fear of reprisal gave Topuria all the confidence he needed to really start putting some power behind his punches. That’s when Topuria rushed ahead with a blistering combination that ended with the right hook that twisted Volkanovski’s head around and rendered him unconscious immediately.
“[Knocked out] cold,” Topuria said about the finish. “I just had to throw a lot of punches in this fight, a lot of combinations and this is what I did.”
It took Volkanovski several moments to finally get back to his feet as a result of the vicious knockout before offering his congratulations to Topuria on a job well done.
Of course, Volkanovski was understandably shaken by the defeat but he wasted no time suggesting an immediate rematch given his long tenure as champion.
“Well done to him,” Volkanovski said. “He caught me. I was going to start working everything but he got me. Obviously, he’s a hard hitter. We knew that going in. He wasn’t meant to land that like but he did. Credit to him.
“Obviously, I’ve been champion of this featherweight division for a long time. He keeps mentioning Spain. Maybe we do a rematch over there in Spain.”
It’s entirely possible that Volkanovski’s time atop the division will grant him that option, although Topuria keeps hunting for a different fight with hopes that the UFC will give him a card close to home.
“Conor McGregor, if you still have some balls, I will be waiting for you in Spain,” Topuria shouted.
It seems unlikely that Topuria will get his wish but now he’s got a title belt that will undoubtedly entice a lot of contenders to come hunting for him now that the crown sits firmly upon his head.
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