A UFC legend is dying to see Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria run it back after UFC 314.
UFC 314 took place on Saturday night with Ilia Topuria’s vacant featherweight title up for grabs in the main event between former champ Alexander Volkanovski and top contender Diego Lopes.
Topuria relinquished the title earlier this year for a move up to lightweight, leaving his rival Volkanovski to take the throne in his place with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Lopes.
Volkanovski took 14 months off following KO losses in title fights against Islam Makhachev and Topuria, the veteran looking much more durable and tactical in his return despite losing vision in his left eye.
Deemtrious Johnson says Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria 2 ‘could be different’
Heading into his second title reign, Volkanovski’s got contenders waiting for him in the featherweight division, none of which are Ilia Topuria, who has packed up and left to 155lbs.
While others have moved on from the Topuria rematch, it’s still a fight former UFC Flyweight champion and one of the greatest fighters of all time Demetrious Johnson wants to see, absolutely split on how it goes the second time around.
“I wanna see this version of Alex Volkanovski fight Ilia Topuria,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel.
“Because I think the fight could be different…
“Is Ilia Topuria gonna find that mark?” Johnson asked.
“That’s the fight I truly wanna see next.”
Ilia Topuria caught Alexander Volkanovski 4 months after KO loss
When Ilia Topuria fought Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, Volkanovski was coming off a headkick KO loss to pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev four months prior at UFC 294.
Volkanovski outlanded Topuria in strikes before he was ultimately knocked out cold in the second round of their title fight. This was Volkanovski’s only loss at featherweight in 19 appearances.
Some pundits believe the KO loss to Topuria was a byproduct of the Islam Makhachev fight while others believe the result was inevitable given Topuria’s power and unique skillset.
Whatever the case may be, Demetrious Johnson is clamoring for Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski 2 over anything else.
“Now that Alex Volkanovski is a champion again and now that Ilia Topuria is up at 155, it’s kinda like, oh god…’ That’s the fight I really wanna see,” Johnson said.
