Ilia Topuria: “I’m gonna finish Volkanovski in the first round”

Ilia Topuria is incredibly confident going into a potential title bout versus Alexander Volkanovski.

Volkanovski defeated Yair Rodriguez via third-round technical knockout to retain his featherweight title in the main event of UFC 290.

After the victory, it's unclear what the Australian will do; he might move up to lightweight, but Topuria thinks he should face him if he stays at featherweight.

Despite Alexander Volkanovski's perfect record at featherweight, Ilia Topuria believes he can defeat the Australian and even stop the champion 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

“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.”

Ilia Topuria would probably be the underdog in the betting if he were to face Alexander Volkanovski. He is certain, nevertheless, that he would not only defeat Volkanovski but also finish him off quickly to win the title.