Spanish-Georgian fighter Ilia Topuria defeated Australian representative Alex Volkanovski in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) tournament number 298.
Topuria knocked out his opponent in the second round and claimed the promotion’s featherweight title. It belonged to Volkanovski.
Topuria made his debut in the organization on October 11, 2020, at short notice, replacing Korean Choi Sung Woo in a fight against Youssef Zalal at the UFC Fight Night tournament. He defeated the Moroccan by unanimous decision. In total, the athlete has 14 victories in mixed martial arts (six in UFC) and does not have a single defeat.
Prior to this fight, Volkanovski entered the Octagon against Russian fighter Islam Makhachev in the main event of the evening at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi on October 21, 2023. The Russians won an early victory over Volkanovski. The Russian player defeated his opponent by knockout in the first round and defended his title for the second time.
The Australian fighter has been performing professionally since 2012 and is ranked third among the best fighters regardless of weight category in the official UFC rankings. He has 26 wins and three defeats in MMA (two from Makhachev).
Previously Georgian warrior to win former UFC champion.