UFC 298: Ilia Topuria Sends Chilling Warning to Alexander Volkanovski

"Do yourself a favor and show up for the fight."

With less than a month to go until their featherweight title bout at UFC 298, Ilia Topuria has directed another message at Alexander Volkanovski and suggested the UFC champion should stick to hobbies other than fighting.

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One of the brightest young stars on the UFC roster, Topuria made his promotional debut in 2020 and has already collected six victories with four of those wins coming via stoppage. 

The unbeaten fighter is set to challenge Volkanovski for the featherweight title in the main event of UFC 298, and Topuria’s latest effort to try and unsettle the champion ahead of February 17 included taking a dig at one of Volkanovski’s favorite activities outside of the cage.

If you come for that zero, be prepared to leave empty-handed. I don't plan on giving an inch . Your time has gone. Just do yourself a favor and show up for the fight, because I'll be the one walking away with a couple of zeros . By the way, cooking suits you better .

— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) January 22, 2024

"If you come for that zero, be prepared to leave empty-handed," Topuria wrote. "I don't plan on giving an inch . Your time has gone. Just do yourself a favor and show up for the fight, because I'll be the one walking away with a couple of zeros. By the way, cooking suits you better."

“El Matador” certainly isn’t short of confidence heading into his first shot at UFC gold, but the promotion’s #5-ranked featherweight will be standing across from arguably the greatest fighter in the division's history at UFC 298.

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Coming off his second loss to lightweight king Islam Makhachev, Volkanovski has yet to taste defeat in the featherweight division and already defended his belt on five occasions after he took the title from another divisional great in Max Holloway at UFC 245.

Fans have pointed to the Australian’s age and knockout loss in a short-notice bout with Makhachev as reason to be concerned for his chances against Topuria, but regardless of the outcome at UFC 298 their matchup is already shaping up to be one of the biggest featherweight title fights in UFC history.

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