UFC featherweight title challenger Ilia Topuria has spoken out about the promotion's bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley's interest in a fight with him.
It’s not an easy fight as many say. He’s the world champion, but what would I gain by facing him? Right now, it’s not in my plans to fight him. He thinks he’s a superstar, (but) he’s not at all. If you see his last pay-per-view numbers, he’s like – you better keep quiet.
Ilia Topuria
Recall that Topuria will fight Volkanovski for the featherweight championship belt at UFC 298 on February 17.
Topuria, 26, last went into the octagon against Josh Emmett in June 2023 at UFC on ABC 5. That fight lasted the entire distance and ended in favor of Ilia by unanimous decision of the judges. He has 14 wins and no losses on his record.
Volkanovski, 35, last fought against Islam Makhachev in October 2023 at UFC 294. In this confrontation, Alexander suffered a first-round knockout defeat. He has 26 wins and three losses on his record.