After suffering an early defeat against Elijah Topuria, former UFC featherweight titleholder Aleksander Volkanovski believes his services to the organization qualify him for an immediate rematch with the division’s new champion.
“He got me – that’s it,” the Australian said at the post-fight press conference following UFC 298. “I was doing well and I thought I could see everything ahead of time until he got me. I was pretty comfortable in the first round. Then we upped the momentum, I started doing more and he got me. It’s just a game. I’m pretty sure I was even a little bit ahead, but it’s just a game.”
“I give credit to Topuria. If he hits like that, you go down. That was a clean right hook. It doesn’t matter who you are – if you miss a punch like that to the chin, you’re probably going to fall. I don’t want to sit here and tell you, ‘this was wrong, that was wrong’. I did great. I had a great training camp and felt good about the fight.”
“Obviously, I’ve been champion for a very long time and I want that rematch. It’s going to happen. How long have I ruled the division? I’ve always been a company man. I came out on short notice and fought Max Holloway three times. Name one thing I haven’t done. I’ve been champion for a long time and I think I deserve it. It’s going to be different next time.”
Recall that the title fight between Alex Volkanovski and Elijah Topuria, headlined by another numbered event of the world’s strongest league, ended at the 3:32 mark of the second round with a knockout victory for the Spanish-Georgian fighter.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/33956-aleks-volkanovski-trebuet-revansh-s-iliej-topuriej.html?rand=19907
