Ilia Topuria is ready to head into enemy territory if it means a UFC title fight with featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.
In the main event of UFC Jacksonville this past Saturday, Topuria delivered a dominating display against Josh Emmett that kept his undefeated record intact and made him one of the most dangerous competitors in the 145-pound division.
Topuria later said he was looking forward to a title shot, but would also be willing to fight Max Holloway if the UFC were to arrange for that bout to happen in his adopted home of Spain. Given the possibility of having to travel to Australia to fight Volkanowski on the champion’s home turf, the featherweight contender adopted it.
“No problem a******,” Topuria said. “If I think I’m the best in the world, I can beat him in Australia, in Las Vegas, in Miami, in Spain, wherever we go, I beat him. Location is not a problem.”
There’s no guarantee Volkanovski will still have a belt around his waist when Topuria is ready to fight again. The champ is currently preparing for his defense against interim champion Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 on July 8. If Volkanovski continues his incredible reign, he will likely jump back up to 155 pounds for a rematch with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who was narrowly defeated. him at UFC 284.
This is one of the reasons why Topuria is considering a fight with Holloway instead, but his main goal is to win the UFC title.
“Right now, I’m really focused on getting that championship belt,” he said. “I want to have a title fight, which I know I deserve. But if they make some offers to go to Spain and do a fight in Spain with Max Holloway, maybe, because if they tell me to go to Spain to fight an unknown person, I won’t ask for that fight because I want to go for that belt.” But if they come out and say to me, “We want to take the UFC to Spain and you’re going to fight Max Holloway,” I’ll say, “Hell, let’s go, let’s do it. I want to fight in front of my people.”
While a win over Holloway would cement Topuria as the number one contender at £145, he’s not quite sure it’s necessary for him to beat everyone else to earn a championship chance. The way he sees it, he is the best option for breaking Volkanovski’s iron grip on the division.
“This is the most realistic situation for me,” Topuria said. “There’s nothing else for me. I’ve shown everyone – even before that with Bryce Mitchell – in this department, no one can match my level of skill inside the cage. No one can, no one. No one.”
“So what is there for me in this division other than fighting for the title? If someone can stop me and someone thinks they are the champ, then nobody else can.”
When asked about a pick, Topuria said he expected Volkanovski to retain the belt at UFC 290. However, he stopped short of indicating that he was seeking a Volkanovski win in order to keep a clear course for himself; If Volkanowski loses, he will likely be given an immediate rematch against Rodriguez.
Topuria has waited this long to get his due, and no matter what’s next, he’s just fine waiting to find out.
“Like I said, one of the best skills I have is patience,” he said. “I can wait. I’m young, 26, enjoying life. I’m happy with everything I have, so I can wait. I haven’t rushed anything. No problem.”
“I don’t care,” he continued. “I have a goal, which is to become world champion and if I have to wait, I will wait all my life. Why won’t I wait, like another six months or something? I will wait.”