Tag: Alexander Volkanovski

Brian Ortega praises Ilia Topuria, but thinks Alexander Volkanovski looked off at UFC 298

Brian Ortega thinks Alexander Volkanovski looked off at UFC 298.

MEXICO CITY – [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] looked off at UFC 298.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round knockout this past Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Although all three judges awarded Volkanovski Round 1, Ortega questions Volkanovski’s movement and reactions in the fight.

“Props to Ilia. He won. That was impressive – it was a very, very devastating KO he got,” Ortega told reporters during Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 237 media day. “For Volk, I’m trying to look at it from both perspectives. Either Topuria’s game plan was really good, staying calm, moving back, throwing power punches … and then Volk, I don’t know. To me, it didn’t seem like the same Volk, right?

“Seeing him and being in front of him (in 2021), I’m like, you are moving different. But obviously, you adjust for every opponent that you have, so who knows. But I am curious to see what’s going to happen now in the featherweight division.”

Ortega (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) runs things back with Yair Rodriguez (18-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 237 (ESPN+) headliner at Mexico City Arena.

Topuria doubled down on his dismissal of Ortega, Rodriguez, and Max Holloway as potential title challengers, but Ortega isn’t putting too much stock into that anymore.

“I’m not sure, man,” Ortega said. “My answer to that is always ‘We’ll see.'”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 237.

MMA Junkie Radio #3439: Eric Nicksick joins the show, Jamahal Hill addresses concerns, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”

Thursday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,439, the fellas welcome in Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick, discuss Jamahal Hill’s recent statements about his return at UFC 300, and touch on the latest news in the MMA world. Tune in!

Demetrious Johnson says Ilia Topuria is just a bad matchup for Alexander Volkanovski: ‘You’re going to sleep’

Demetrious Johnson advises Alexander Volkanovski against taking an immediate rematch vs. Ilia Topuria.

[autotag]Demetrious Johnson[/autotag] advises [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] against an immediate rematch vs. [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) was dethroned by Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 298 main event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. when he was knocked out in Round 2. “The Great” campaigned for a rematch, and is even willing to face Topuria in Spain to get it.

But Johnson isn’t sure if that’s a good idea. He thinks Topuria’s power will continue to pose problems for Volkanovski.

“I watched his (Volkanovski’s) press conference, and he still seems bubbly,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “There’s a spirit about him where he wants to continue to fight, but the question is, does he do an immediate rematch? For me, after listening to the press conference, Volkanovski was like, ‘Man, I was going to start adding more things to the fight.’

“When I sit here, if Ilia gets the opportunity to touch you, you’re going to sleep. So, I don’t know what other tool set he was going to bring to the fight to stop Ilia from getting to him. If they do a rematch, all Ilia has to do is touch him. He has to run away from Ilia Topuria for 25 minutes. … I truly feel like Ilia Topuria is a bad matchup for Alex Volkanovski because he doesn’t get frustrated.”

Volkanovski has been knocked out in his past two fights. Johnson worries about his chin moving forward – especially in a matchup against someone like Topuria.

“I’d be curious to see how he (Volkanovski) would change the game plan because if Ilia touches you, he’s going to go out,” Johnson said. “Especially since his last few fights he’s gotten knocked out. You look at Wanderlei Silva, you look at Chuck Liddell, once you get knocked out and you get knocked again and again, that button goes quicker and quicker and quicker. It happened last night.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

T.J. Dillashaw: Alexander Volkanovski ‘was fighting scared’ at UFC 298, led to Ilia Topuria’s knockout

T.J. Dillashaw says he could tell during the fight that Alexander Volkanovski was scared of Ilia Topuria’s power.

[autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag] questions [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]’s game plan vs. [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round knockout in Saturday’s UFC 298 main event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Dillashaw thinks Volkanovski looked uncharacteristically tentative and feared Topuria’s power.

“He was only throwing kicks. I know he was scared of the power,” Dillashaw said on the “JAXXON PODCAST.” “You can tell the way he was fighting, he was very scared of Topuria’s power, which he should be to an extent, but he’s never fought like that in the past. The first two rounds, all he was doing was throwing kicks. He wasn’t setting them up. He was just throwing them. He was expecting Topuria to block them.

“I was thinking he was trying to slow down his arms because every time you block a kick, it’s like getting a charley horse in your arm. Every time you get hit there, more blood comes to it. It slows his arms down. So, I was thinking maybe he’s slowing down his arms by throwing kicks and getting him to block, because he wasn’t setting them up. He wasn’t throwing kicks to knock him out. You could tell because if he was trying to do that, you’d throw a combo, finish with a kick, hopefully catch him.”

Dillashaw also didn’t like Volkanovski’s body language whenever Topuria would press forward.

“Every time Topuria would get close, he’d be like backing out and leaning away,” Dillashaw continued. “As soon as I saw that, I was like, ‘Damn, he’s going to get caught.’ He was fighting scared. He was worried about the power. I’m a huge Volk fan. I was wanting him to win. … He just kept leaning away, leaning away from everything and leaning away from the power.

“It was only a matter of time before Topuria caught him because that guy stays so tight. He’s so composed in his boxing, and his combos are great. I think that’s where it went wrong. He was scared. He was afraid of his power and fought scared. Topuria didn’t have anything to lose, Volk had all of it to lose, and he fought that way. He fought scared of his power.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Alexander Volkanovski hopes to rest up, rematch Ilia Topuria in Spain: ‘I’m going to get that belt back’

Alexander Volkanovski is willing to go to Spain to get his rematch with Ilia Topuria.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] is willing to go to Spain to get his rematch with [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round knockout in Saturday’s UFC 298 headliner at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the promotion’s plans to have Topuria make his first title defense in Spain later this year, and Volkanovski thinks that would line up perfectly for him in terms of a return.

“Next time, it’ll be different, but I’m going to just have a little bit of a rest,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I definitely want that rematch. Spain, what I’m hearing, is going to happen. Dana wants Spain, obviously Ilia wants Spain. That probably won’t be until later in the year.

“So the timing would be perfect for me to spend time with the fam, rest up a little bit, look after myself and then we’ll get back in there. We’ll make it right on my end. I’m going to do everything right for the next one, and I’m going to get that belt back. Mark my words.”

Volkanovski said he was starting to get into his groove in Round 2, before Topuria backed him against the cage and clipped him.

“I think the judges had me up the first round, and I think I was starting to pick it up even more in the second,” Volkanovski said. “I was ready to even go another level. I had him missing, I was starting to touch him, and I was going to start adding on, and he did a great job of getting me to the cage where we knew we didn’t want to be with someone like him.

“He got me there and I probably had better options than looking for a counter. After he backed me up there, he caught me. He did a great job to find that, a great shot, and that’s all you need in this sport.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Alexander Volkanovski’s coach after UFC 298: We knew Ilia Topuria had a puncher’s chance – and he got it

Joe Lopez suggests Ilia Topuria simply capitalized on his puncher’s chance at UFC 298.

Joe Lopez suggests [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] simply capitalized on his puncher’s chance at UFC 298.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round knockout in Saturday’s UFC 298 main event.

All three judges scored Round 1 in favor of Volkanovski, and his head coach believes he was starting to take control before he got caught.

“Alex was going through the game plan, was finding his range and starting to touch him up,” Lopez told the Daily Mail. “(I) was disappointed (by the result), knowing that Alex has a much better skillset.”

Lopez said they were aware of the power Topuria packs but appeared to insinuate that’s all they had to worry about. Four of Topuria’s past six wins have come by knockout.

“We knew coming into this fight he had a puncher’s chance – and he got that punch,” Lopez said.

Former five-time defending champion Volkanovski called for an immediate rematch with Topuria, who called out Conor McGregor in his post-fight speech. Topuria has been dismissive of most top contenders – including running things back with Volkanovski, but said he’d be open to a rematch if the UFC offered it.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

MMA Junkie Radio #3438: UFC 298 recap, Alexander Volkanovski’s rematch ask, more

Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”

Monday’s edition of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.

On Episode 3,438, MMA’s favorite brother tandem not named Diaz discuss all the storylines coming out of UFC 298, including what should be next for former champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag].

UFC 298 medical suspensions: Henry Cejudo among 9 fighters suspended 180 days

Nine UFC 298 competitors are out a potential 180 days due to injuries sustained in their fights Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view event in Anaheim, Calif. was not a good night to be a limb.

UFC 298 took place at Anaheim, Calif. and featured 12 bouts and 24 fighters. Nine of those fighters were handed six-month suspensions as a result of injuries sustained in their bouts. Eight of those potential injuries were deemed possible fractures.

Monday, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster, who oversaw the event, provided MMA Junkie with a full list of medical suspensions.

Scroll below to see how much time UFC 298 competitors will have to take off as a result of their bouts Saturday. It’s important to note fighters may return before the conclusion of their suspensions if they are cleared by a physician (unless denoted “no exception” or “mandatory”).

5 biggest takeaways from UFC 298: Did Alexander Volkanovski’s quick return aid in Ilia Topuria’s title win?

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 298, including the optics around Alexander Volkanovski’s title loss to Ilia Topuria.

What mattered most at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.? Here are a few post-fight musings …

Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Alexander Volkanovski after UFC 298 title loss?

With back-to-back knockout losses, Alexander Volkanovski’s future is uncertain after he lost his title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.

(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for new champ Ilia Topuria after UFC 298 title win?)

The longest current title reign among UFC champions came to a brutal end Saturday when [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] lost his featherweight belt to Ilia Topuria in the UFC 298 main event.

After racking up five consecutive title defenses, Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) was unable to get past the hurdle that was rising unbeaten contender Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who knocked him out in the second round of their fight at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

With the result, Volkanovski has not only dropped consecutive fights for the first time in his career, but both of them – including his short-notice defeat to Islam Makhachev in their UFC 294 rematch in October – came by way of a rather vicious knockout.

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At 35, there now are serious questions about what the future holds for “The Great,” who asked for a rematch with Topuria.

What should be next for Volkanovski? Watch the video above for thoughts and analysis on his future after UFC 298.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.