The decision of Ilia Topuria to leave his featherweight belt vacant and move up to lightweight has sent shockwaves through the MMA community. Topuria’s announcement a few months ago came as a surprise to many, who thought he would have one more title defense before making the jump. However, the harsh weight cuts and his ambition to become a double champion have led him to relinquish the belt, awaiting confirmation of his next opponent. One of the biggest casualties of this decision is Alexander Volkanovski, who had a rematch against Topuria on the horizon after losing the belt to him via knockout a year ago.
Volkanovski and Topuria have shown a good and respectful relationship, evident in a video uploaded to Volkanovski’s YouTube channel where he doesn’t reproach Topuria for his decision to move up in weight. “Clean play of Ilyia… Let’s see what awaits you, do your own thing. I will do my thing, and maybe we can make an even greater fight after this,” Volkanovski said. With Topuria’s decision, Volkanovski will now face Diego Lopes for the vacant belt on April 14 at UFC 314 in Miami. The plan is to recover his throne and organize a future fight against Topuria that will be even more highly anticipated.
For this to happen, Volkanovski will have to overcome the Brazilian first, who has emerged as one of the biggest names in the new generation of featherweights. After more than a year of inactivity, three losses in his last four fights, and two consecutive knockouts, Volkanovski’s figure as one of the best featherweights in history has been questioned. However, his intention is to recover his best version and return to stardom. Only Topuria and Makhachev have been able to overcome Volkanovski in the UFC, and curiously, these two names are currently at the center of rumors about a potential fight between them.
Revenge will have to wait
Volkanovski had a clear goal for his return: he wanted to fight for the belt. After being a replacement opponent for Makhachev on short notice, which ended in the worst possible way for him, the UFC owed him a title shot. However, the plan hasn’t worked out as expected, as his intention was to have a rematch against Topuria. “Obviously, I wanted revenge. That was going to be a bigger factor for me, losing against him and wanting a victory back. That’s all I wanted for quite some time,” he acknowledged in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani.
The turning point came in early February in Sydney, when Topuria went to support his brother Aleksandre in his debut against Colby Thicknesse. Volkanovski and the UFC didn’t promote a potential fight between the two, and many were surprised by the good vibes between them, even with Volkanovski inviting Topuria to his kitchen channel on YouTube. Volkanovski has perfectly understood Topuria’s decision and respects it, although he wants to face him again when possible. “A point came where I didn’t know what was happening. I was like ‘ok, give me anything for the belt’,” he said. If he gets past Lopes, Volkanovski has already announced that he will challenge Movsar Evloev for his next title defense, although Topuria will continue to be a presence in his plans until fate brings them together again in the octagon.