Saturday night in Anaheim, California belonged to Ilya Topria.
The Republic of Georgia is the hometown of his parents, where he grew up as a boy, and he is happy to have reached the top.
Spain, where Topria arrived as a teenager, became a man, and became a champion, can rejoice in having reached the pinnacle of MMA’s world stage.
yes, UFC 298 was Topria’s coming out party He exploded a right hook grenade into the jaw of Alexander Volkanovski. What used to be an Australian featherweight championship is now a Georgian-Spanish championship.
The UFC is an organization of shiny new objects, and none shines brighter than its new champion, who is now 27 years old.
But don’t get distracted just yet, lest you quickly forget what Volkanovski has accomplished over the past four years.
Sustained excellence is almost rare in mixed martial arts, and Volkanovski has already entered the ranks of the sport’s legends with five consecutive title defenses spanning 1,526 days atop the 145-pound mountain.
Yes, it is important that the 6th does not exist. Yes, it is important that Volkanovski (26-4, 16 finishes) not see his 1,527th day as the top featherweight fighter on the planet.
And yes, it’s very important that Ilia Topuria (15-0, 13 finishes) enters the first day of her reign as the definitive and undisputed top 145-pounder on the planet.
But just a few days ago, it was Volkanovski who garnered the admiration of most fans at the UFC 298 press conference. The good-humored 35-year-old Australian will reprise his role in the Sportsbet ad that became popular in his home country, playing the character affectionately known as Grandpa Volk by fans, playing fake naps and seniors. By incorporating the ism, he became a hot topic.
In layman’s terms, Volkanovsky won the hearts of the public. Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg loved him so much that Zac would accompany him on walks to Volk’s cage. They have also trained together.
Two days later, the word “done” has a different meaning for him. Topuria assured that.
Topria was delusional in his confidence leading up to his first chance at a UFC title — in fact, his first against an opponent he had fought for the undisputed UFC gold medal. It was a match. He called himself a champion and added the win to his personal record in his social media bio. He expected a first round knockout.
There’s no delusion there. I was just one round late.
“It’s clear he’s in power. I knew I had to be careful with that,” Volkanovski said inside the Octagon after the fight. “Well done to him. He got me. I was going to start working on everything, but he accepted me, so credit to him.”
The opportunity to end the game within five minutes never really presented itself. The patient Topuria waited a long time for the attack to begin, after which he preferred a calf kick. Volkanovski dominated the action before and after Topuria landed a kick and then let go. It seemed that perhaps he could break the “35+ curse” that Old Man Volk had deceived.
he couldn’t. I mean, it’s not Southern California.
So where does that leave the dominant, dethroned champion who never looked old himself until he was carelessly crumpled on the canvas? We’ve seen such former champions get a second crack and quickly rematch in scenarios like this before. Neither do we. The UFC brass can be fickle when it comes to things like this.
Volkanovski floated the idea inside the Octagon shortly after Topria, the best 145-pound mixed martial artist on the planet, called out Conor McGregor to face him on the Iberian Peninsula in his first words.
“I’ve been the champion in this featherweight division for a long time,” Volkanovski said. “He keeps mentioning Spain. Maybe we’ll have a rematch there.”
Unsurprisingly, UFC CEO Dana White postponed the weigh-in and told reporters afterward that he wasn’t thinking about whether Volkanovski would be given a second chance right away. But White noted that Topuria is interested in the headline-grabbing Spanish event.
Considering there are currently ongoing discussions that they might actually meet, McGregor might actually face Michael Chandler after coaching each other on The Ultimate Fighter last year. The idea of a champion is much more realistic. Who’s to say that McGregor, who plays the villain in the upcoming “Roadhouse” reboot, will fight again nearly three and four years after his last win?
When Topuria spoke to the Post during fight week, he ruled out a top-five contender for a potential first-time title challenger.
“There is no meaningful fight to defeat someone.” [Volkanovski] They have already beaten everyone in the top five,” Topuria explained. “…We will have to wait a little bit, but soon there will be a new and clear challenger for the 145th title.”
He added: [Volkanovski]They won’t ask me for a rematch. He may be right, but he stakes his claim for a very good former champion who defeated Max Holloway three times and also had one win each over Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez, and Chan Sung-Jong. You could also do that.
But don’t forget, the UFC has a way of forcing champions into fights the promotion wants, and White reminded reporters that UFC champions must face top contenders.
Volkanovski’s goal is to go down as the greatest featherweight of all time. Currently, Jose Aldo holds that title. But like Volkanovski, Aldo once lost his title to a brash young international star by early knockout – and yes, McGregor made a cameo again.
If Volkanovski has his way, Aldo will have another chance to achieve GOAT status, perhaps even in an unfriendly region of Spain. That means “older” athletes have another chance to prove they can still win big tournaments, even after 35 years on their biological clocks.
Don’t exclude him and don’t forget about him yet.
