Alexander Volkanovski is reflecting on his loss to Ilya Topria in the main event of UFC 298
Volkanovski showed strong performance against Topuria, making it past the first round on all three judges’ scorecards. He put up a good fight for two rounds until he was pushed back into the cage and got knocked out by a hard right to the jaw.
Despite the loss, Volkanovski immediately called for a rematch in his UFC 298 post-fight press conference and in a new video on his YouTube channel.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Volkanovski said, “I thought I’d make a video to let everyone know I’m okay and of course to talk about what happened last night. When I win, I always smash the fight, so when I lose, I’m always going to smash it. It’s a crazy game we play. You can’t win them all, right? Sometimes it’s a hammer, sometimes it’s a nail.”
He also admitted, “Last night, I was a nail. I’ve been a hammer so many times. I’ve ruined so many people’s parties so many times. Last night, Ilia got the job done.”
Volkanovski honestly assessed how the battle turned out.
He said, “I thought I was doing well. I felt great there. You know? I think the judges favored me in the first round, but I think I started winning even more in the second round. I was ready to go to another level. If he was gone… Then I started touching him and then I was going to keep adding more.”
“He did a great job of getting me into the cage, where we knew we didn’t want to be with someone like him,” Volkanovski added. “He got me there. After he got me up there, he got me when I probably had a better option than looking for a counter. I mean, he’s great. He did a great job finding his shots, and that’s all you need in this sport.”
Volkanovski declared, “Next time will be different,” and expressed his desire for a rematch in Spain later this year to reclaim the belt.
He concluded, “So we’re going to do everything right for the next match. And I’m going to get that belt back, keep my word. But again, thank you for the support. You guys are amazing.”
As the former featherweight champion, Volkanovski’s history in the sport gives him standing to seek an immediate rematch. However, his recent record includes two consecutive KO finishes in his last four fights, raising questions about the timing of his return to the Octagon.
As Volkanovski aims for a rematch, some are concerned about whether he might be rushing his return or if delaying it would work against him.
