Demetrious Johnson advises Alexander Volkanovski against an immediate rematch vs. Ilia Topuria.
Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) was dethroned by Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 298 main event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. when he was knocked out in Round 2. “The Great” campaigned for a rematch, and is even willing to face Topuria in Spain to get it.
But Johnson isn’t sure if that’s a good idea. He thinks Topuria’s power will continue to pose problems for Volkanovski.
“I watched his (Volkanovski’s) press conference, and he still seems bubbly,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “There’s a spirit about him where he wants to continue to fight, but the question is, does he do an immediate rematch? For me, after listening to the press conference, Volkanovski was like, ‘Man, I was going to start adding more things to the fight.’
“When I sit here, if Ilia gets the opportunity to touch you, you’re going to sleep. So, I don’t know what other tool set he was going to bring to the fight to stop Ilia from getting to him. If they do a rematch, all Ilia has to do is touch him. He has to run away from Ilia Topuria for 25 minutes. … I truly feel like Ilia Topuria is a bad matchup for Alex Volkanovski because he doesn’t get frustrated.”
Volkanovski has been knocked out in his past two fights. Johnson worries about his chin moving forward – especially in a matchup against someone like Topuria.
“I’d be curious to see how he (Volkanovski) would change the game plan because if Ilia touches you, he’s going to go out,” Johnson said. “Especially since his last few fights he’s gotten knocked out. You look at Wanderlei Silva, you look at Chuck Liddell, once you get knocked out and you get knocked again and again, that button goes quicker and quicker and quicker. It happened last night.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.
