Ilia Topuria shares bold prediction for “easy” Alexander Volkanovski

Ilia Topuria is extremely confident heading into a potential title fight against Alexander Volkanovski.

In the main event of UFC 290, Volkanovski defended his featherweight title with a third-round TKO over Yair Rodriguez. Following the win, it’s uncertain what will be next for the Aussie as he may move up to lightweight, but if he stays at featherweight, Topuria believes he should be the fight.

Although Alexander Volkanovski is undefeated at featherweight, Ilia Topuria not only thinks he beats the Aussie but is confident he finishes the champ in the first round.

“I always have confidence in myself, I don’t have any doubt that I can beat him pretty easy. People think it’s a tough fight, he says that I’m the easiest fight he’s gonna have in his whole career,” Ilia Topuria said on The MMA Hour. “We’ll see. We’ll see. Keep with that same energy, champ…

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“My official prediction, I was thinking a lot about that. I was doing my imagination, I see me knocking him out in the first two rounds. I see myself knocking him out, maybe in the first round,” Topuria continued. “He won the title off a fighter who goes forward, and you can’t go forward with me, you can’t do that. Especially if you have that boxing style, he’s a striker. I’m gonna finish, in the first round.”

If Ilia Topuria does get the fight against Alexander Volkanovski, he likely would be the betting underdog. However, he is confident he not only would beat Volkanovski but would knock him out early to become the champ.

Should Ilia Topuria get the title fight and KO Alexander Volkanovski in the first round, it would be a massive surprise. However, Topuria is oozing with confidence and hopes he can get the matchup later this year.