UFC 317: Ilia Topuria says he'll ‘never' fight Alex Volkanovski again
Ilia Topuria has emphatically shut the door on a potential rematch with Alex Volkanovski, suggesting the Aussie's dreams of becoming a multi-division champ are over.
Volkanovski lost his featherweight belt to Topuria in February last year, with a knockout punch leaving the Aussie's career on the ropes following another KO loss to Islam Makhachev.
Topuria (16-0) defended his featherweight title against Max Holloway before vacating the title to move up to lightweight.
He is aiming to become a two-division champion when he takes on Charles Oliveira in a blockbuster main event this weekend at UFC 317 in Las Vegas.
'It's another dream come true, you know, Topuria told news.com.au.
'I always had the dream to become a world champion, but now I have the opportunity to become two-weight world champion. And the first one to be undefeated.
'So I felt very excited and very grateful for having this opportunity and of course it means a lot for me and for my family.'
Australia's Volkanovski, 36, is in the twilight of his career but showed he is still a class fighter, defeating Diego Lopes to reclaim his featherweight title.
But Volk's dreams of becoming lightweight champion appear over, with the Aussie set to finish his UFC career with a couple of featherweight title defences.
Topuria shook his head when asked if he would fight Volkanovski again in a rematch.
'Never (again), all with Volk is done,' he said.
'First of all, because I'm not planning to go back to the featherweight division again.
'And the second thing is that I don't think that they (the UFC) are gonna allow him to move up to the lightweight division.
'OK if he does it, I don't think that he deserves the title shot directly.'
Volkanovski has previously told news.com.au he may only have a handful of fights left before he retires, but his next featherweight opponent is unclear — Lopes, Yair Rodriguez or undefeated Russian Movsar Evloev are potential options.
With Jon Jones retired and Alex Pereira's next fight up in the air, the next great UFC blockbuster could be a bout between Topuria and Makhachev at lightweight.
Makhachev has signalled his intention to move up to welterweight to fight Jack Della Maddalena for the belt after the Perth product became Australia's third UFC champion earlier this year.
'I don't know what's going to happen after this fight, to be honest,' Topuria said when asked about a potential fight with Makhachev.
'I'm willing is to stay active. So whatever the UFC wants me to do, if they want me to move up to welterweight division to face Islam, I will be OK.
'If they want to keep defending the belt of lightweight division, I will be OK also. I'm here to fight and to entertain people.
'Of course, if he (Makhachev) wants to come back (to lightweight) or the UFC wants me to move up to the welterweight division, I always have that door open, you know what I mean? 'I always wanted to fight him. Since the first day I heard his name and I decided to move up. I was like I want to face this guy.
'He decided to move up, I don't know for what reasons, but if in the future he wants to fight, I will be there.'
As for this weekend against Oliveira, Topuria said: 'I see myself knocking him out in the first round. Maybe it's going to be right hand straight to his face.'
'For the first time, I could say that I really enjoyed the whole process of the training camp. I enjoyed everything. That extra pounds make a huge difference in my life.
'So, I'm very happy and very excited to show to everyone like that I really belong to this weight class. They think that I'm small, they're gonna realise on that actually I'm huge.'
Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira — lightweight title bout
Alexandre Pantoja vs Kai Kara-France — flyweight title bout
Brandon Royval vs Joshua Van — flyweight bout
Beniel Dariush vs Renato Moicano — lightweight bout
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Super Netball round 12: Hulita Veve ruled out for season with ACL injury
Queensland Firebirds co-captain Hulita Veve will be sidelined for the rest of the season after suffering an ACL tear - the second player to be ruled out for the remainder of the club's 2025 campaign this week. The Firebirds revealed on Friday the 29-year-old midcourter and Tongan international injured her ACL in training earlier this week. The club said Veve would consult with a specialist in the coming days to determine when she would undergo surgery. Veve's injury comes after Firebirds goal attack Tippah Dwan was this week also ruled out of the rest of the season due to an ongoing knee injury. Firebirds head coach Kiri Wills said the loss of Veve's was a blow to the team's on-court leadership. 'This is a massive blow for Hulita and for all of us at the club,' Wills said. 'Not only is Hulita a leader in our club, she's a hugely popular and important part of our purple family and I know everyone will be doing all we can to support her as she begins her rehabilitation. 'It's a huge loss for us on court - but we have a resilient group and I know Hulita will want us to do all we can to finish the season as strongly as possible.' Veve was named as a co-captain alongside defender Ruby Bakewell-Doran this year. A premiership winner with the Firebirds in 2016, the mother-of-two made a successful return as a full-time contracted Super Netball player last season. The Firebirds sit at the bottom of the Super Netball ladder with three rounds remaining in the regular season.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
AFL Round 16 Sydney vs Western Bulldogs live blog: scores, stats and live commentary
Last year's grand finalists the Sydney Swans have to keep winning to have any chance of making it to September, while the Western Bulldogs will look to dominate at the SCG through emerging superstar Sam Darcy. Follow the live blog below, keep up to date with all the latest stats in our ScoreCentre, and tune in to our live radio coverage.
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
AFL 2025: Collingwood coach Craig McRae on Nick Daicos tag, Tasmanian link
Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos is fighting back against taggers armed with tactics from one of the game's greatest midfielders. Daicos has been on the radar of opposition coaches for nearly each of his 84 games – but none more focused than the past two weeks. The star Magpie didn't have his normal impact against Melbourne's Ed Langdon but had 30 disposals and a goal against St Kilda stopper Marcus Windhager last Saturday. Collingwood coach Craig McRae played alongside regular tag breakers in his time at Brisbane, including Brownlow medallist Simon Black, and has leaned on their tricks to help his young star. 'I think Simon Black was the best I'd seen in my time … but I sort of gave some things Blacky used to do to Nick,' he said. Craig McRae (left) dusted off some tag-breaking tricks from AFL great Simon Black (right). 'Everyone is trying to support him and he's a high-end talent, Nick, and this is progression. 'Chatting to Pendles (Scott Pendlebury), Pendles went through this early in his career. You have to go through this, (Marcus) Bontempelli is still doing it a couple of weeks ago. 'The best players have to cope with this and this is a part of Nick's journey now. 'I thought we supported him a bit better; he's a pretty hard player to tag, his running capability is huge.' McRae welcomed the Saints' tag last week, referencing how little reducing the impact of star Western Bulldog Marcus Bontempelli had on the scoreboard. He doubled down on Thursday in preparation for West Coast, pondering whether the focus on Daicos makes the Magpies a better side. 'Maybe, arguably at times we are yeah, that's the debate, isn't it?' he said. Nick Daicos has spoken about joining Tasmania when his Collingwood contract expires. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images 'I said here a couple of weeks ago, it's interesting, maybe if you tag someone what it costs your team and we'll try and manipulate it as much as we can.' McRae also said he's continually talking to umpires and the AFL about how Daicos is treated by taggers, and the whistleblowers. 'I spoke to the umpires at training (on Thursday), and we don't want to create a story that's not there, just an awareness of how they see things,' he said. 'We're here to protect our talent in the game, and Nick's someone we want to make sure we support. 'In hindsight and review of this performance, we were rapt with how we looked after Nick (against St Kilda).' Daicos spoke on Wednesday about the possibility of joining Tasmania at the end of his existing contract at Collingwood. McRae joked there would be a hidden addition to Tasmania's pitch to Daicos as he laughed off a potential move. 'If Nick goes to Tassie, I am going with him,' he laughed. 'It's a double deal … not yet (taking it seriously), I love Nick, please don't leave.' Tyler Lewis Sports reporter Tyler Lewis is a sports reporter based in Melbourne's south east. @tmlew_ Tyler Lewis
