UFC 298: Alexander Volkanovski Lauds 'Clever' Sean O'Malley for Ilia Topuria Callout
Alexander Volkanovski has no issue with the fact that Sean O’Malley seems intent on fighting Ilia Topuria if he claims Volkanovski’s featherweight title at UFC 298.
“The Great” is coming off his second loss to UFC lightweight king Islam Makhachev, but Volkanovski will try to preserve his perfect record in the featherweight division when he and Topuria meet on February 17 in Anaheim, CA.
Topuria appears to be extremely confident heading into his first UFC title shot, and Michael Bisping recently asked Volkanovski to comment on O’Malley's plan to fight for the featherweight title if “El Matador” becomes champion.
“He knows there’s a bit of history with Topuria ‘cause of their talk, and he’s just being smart,” Volkanovski said on Bisping's YouTube channel. “He’s probably backing me. But at the same time, he’s clever. He’s gonna have a safe net. ‘Look, this is a good option for me to get double-champ.’"
Targeting double-champ status seems to be a lofty goal for O’Malley considering he still hasn't defended the UFC bantamweight title yet, but his war of words with Topuria admittedly dates back to before “Sugar” won the belt from Aljamain Sterling last year.
O’Malley noticeably hasn’t mentioned the idea of fighting Volkanovski if the Australian defends his title for a sixth time, but “The Great” isn’t particularly surprised by that given how his skillset compares to Topuria's.
O'Malley claimed the UFC bantamweight title in his last fight.
(Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
“With me, he probably doesn’t feel as comfortable. I’m sure he backs himself, we all back ourselves…Topuria, maybe he sees ‘He’s gonna try and stand with me.’ Maybe [he's] seeing things that I feel I’m seeing as well with Topuria, and that’s why he’s comfortable with the matchup.”
Topuria has added six victories to his unbeaten record since he joined the UFC in 2020, and the 27-year-old seems poised to become a breakout star for the promotion if he’s able to upset Volkanovski at UFC 298.
A matchup with O’Malley could be a massive fight for the UFC if Topuria does claim the featherweight belt, however that bout also depends on whether or not “Sugar” is able to avenge his only loss when he faces Marlon “Chito” Vera in a rematch at UFC 299.
If you use any quotes from this article, please leave an H/T to MMAKnockout.com for the transcription.
Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC and MMA
Follow MMA Knockout on Twitter and Facebook.