Henry Cejudo thinks not only can Ilia Topuria beat UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, but he can make it look easy.
Volkanovski (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC) is expected to defend his title against unbeaten Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) next. Volkanovski has defended his belt five times and was once the UFC’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. But if Topuria can fend off Volkanovski’s leg kicks and mix in his grappling, Cejudo sees him becoming champion.
“I am going for Ilia Topuria, but it’s hard to go against a guy who is very well rounded, who has fought that level of competition that Alexander Volkanovski has,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel.
“There’s one thing I would say that would make me bet the house on a guy like Ilia Topuria because I am going for him, if he could protect his leg kicks, and if he can bring back some of that Georgian wrestling into this fight, I could see Ilia Topuria not only just beating him but actually dominating in this fight.”
Cejudo praised Volkanovski for his ability to game plan and his well rounded skillset, but he thinks he takes too many risks, which will eventually cost him.
“He does put himself in these bad positions,” Cejudo said. “We talk about that fight with (Brian) Ortega. He literally put himself in that guillotine choke, and he decided to go back in there and then he did it again. This guy is willing to play with fire, and there’s going to come a time where he’s eventually going to get burned.
“Or I go back to him being put in the same position against Islam Makhachev, when Islam took his back and literally he couldn’t get out. That was round after round. I’m just letting you know that he likes kind of playing with fire. So, I feel like when Alexander does maybe take an L, it might be just because of submission or potentially a knockout.”
