An Ilia Topria vs Alexander Volkanovski rematch was on the cards for UFC 314, and a potential announcement was expected about the fight. Instead, what transpired in the form of development on Wednesday has not only erased the matchup for now but probably for the future as well. After walking the talk at UFC 298 and claiming the title against Volkanovski, Topria went on to defend the strap against Max Holloway at UFC 308. After beating two of the greatest featherweights of all time, the Spaniard has vacated the title.
El Matador's decision to renounce the title has shocked the fans and the immediate thought about the call is that he will climb up the weight ladder and may challenge Islam Makhachev for the Lightweight title. But since no announcement regarding the matter is yet to be made, the thought of him switching the weight division is nothing but an assertion.
Alexander Volkanovski, who will be taking for Diego Lupes at UFC 314, most probably for the vacant Featherweight title, has dropped his reaction on Ilia Topria ending his title reign.
“I just found out it was Lopes not that long ago,” Volkanovski said. “We always knew it was going to be April for the belt, we just weren’t exactly sure who. Obviously, that throws questions ... What’s happened with Ilia? Is he having a break? Is he moving up? I still don’t know the answer to that. ... He obviously was talking about moving up. We originally thought it was going to be Ilia or Lopes. I was preparing for Ilia because we did the face-off.
“Lopes, obviously a dangerous dude. A bit of a different matchup to Ilia. Obviously, both are dangerous fighters. I’m really looking forward to this one, very excited. Excited to show everyone — people are like, ‘Oh, he’s old, he’s done!’ I hope people are thinking that. Everyone knows I love the underdog story, I love to prove people wrong. I still think a lot of people believe in me, and I’m going to go out there and look great anyway. But for those who don’t, you have every right to think that until I change your opinion, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do April 12. So I cannot wait for that.”