Ilia Topuria denies turning down Alexander Volkanovski rematch fight in Australia: ‘The UFC never offered it’
UFC featherweight Ilia Topuria denies that he had turned down a rematch against Alexander Volkanovski.
After his incredible run as featherweight champion, Volkanovski earned the chance at revenge against Ilia Topuria. It was unclear when exactly ‘The Great’ would be fit to return to action after suffering two back-to-back knockout losses.
However, in a recent episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan claims that Volkanovski was ready to return in August, but that Topuria had turned down the fight.
“But I guess he feels like he’s the champ,” Rogan said. “He can call the shots. I know that he turned down the Perth one — [UFC] 305, the Volkanovski rematch.”
Topuria quickly shut down the claims from Rogan but made it clear that he would rather face Holloway next.
“I never turned down the rematch with Alex as the UFC has never offered me this fight. As I’ve said many times before, I will be the first to knock out Holloway. Let’s keep this simple: Do you want to fight? If the answer is yes, there’s nothing more to discuss. Bring my belt and your pillow”, Topuria tweeted.
Who’s next for Ilia Topuria?
Since Max Holloway’s sensational knockout over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, the war of words between he and Topuria has ramped up. While the win would come up at lightweight, Holloway has practically jumped the queue at featherweight to challenge Topuria for his title.
‘Blessed’ is one of the hottest names in all of MMA at the moment and a fight against Topuria, who is steadily building his own brand, would be massive. Not rushing back might also do Volkanovski some good considering how heavy the last knockout he suffered was.
Topuria has also recently mentioned No.3 ranked Brian Ortega as a potential opponent after the 33-year-old scored a stoppage victory over Yair Rodriguez.
Who would you like to see Ilia Topuria face next?
