Ilia Topuria truly caused a seismic shock at UFC 298 with a ruthless knockout victory over Alexander Volkanovski, becoming the new featherweight champion in the highly anticipated showdown.
This was a globally stunning performance by the Spanish fighter as nobody anticipated that the undefeated featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski “The Great Emperor,” could be knocked out by the challenger, Ilia Topuria.
Ilia Topuria delivered on his promise to defeat Volkanovski before the final bell rang. Topuria unleashed a powerful punch towards Volkanovski, causing the champion to retreat inside the octagon before landing a perfect right hook that shattered the champion’s long-standing defense. Volkanovski collapsed to the canvas in disbelief while Topuria celebrated his victory.
“I feel extremely happy,” Topuria said after the win.
“They told me I couldn’t do it. They said I would be defeated. Just believe in yourself. Work relentlessly, have faith, and anything is possible. Look at me now.
I know my abilities. I’ve worked really hard. I’ve worked really hard for this moment. I knew one day I would become the UFC world champion. It doesn’t matter where you come from as long as you know where you’re going. What’s ahead of you is much more important than what’s left behind.”
Trong his first fight against the champion, Topuria showed no signs of fear. He took the initiative to control the center of the octagon and immediately started unleashing powerful punches and kicks towards Volkanovski.
Volkanovski also had a decent performance, landing accurate kicks to the head and body of the Spanish fighter. However, Topuria was relentless, disregarding Volkanovski’s efforts and sustaining a cut on his nose.
Realizing that he couldn’t avoid Topuria’s power, Volkanovski began to increase the pace and apply pressure. However, his success was short-lived as Topuria continuously evaded and countered with sharp strikes.
In the beginning of the second round, Topuria surprised everyone with a perfect combination of punches, ending Alexander Volkanovski’s dominance. It took Volkanovski a few minutes to get back on his feet after the knockout before congratulating Topuria.
After securing the victory, the Spanish reigning champion didn’t forget to issue a challenge to someone he had long desired to face.
“Conor McGregor, if you still have a little bit of courage, I’ll be waiting for you in Spain,” Topuria shouted loudly.
