For the primary time in his 12-year blended martial arts profession, Alexander Volkanovski has back-to-back losses.
Volkanovski was knocked out within the second spherical of the UFC 98 essential occasion on Saturday by undefeated Ilia Topuria. It was the second time he is been knocked out within the final 4 months.
When the UFC 294 essential occasion between light-weight champion Islam Makhachev and former titleholder Charles Oliveira fell aside final October, Volkanovski stepped in on 11-days discover to rematch the 155-pound champ. Their first combat led to a cut up determination however the rematch led to a first-round knockout.
Volkanovski defended the 145-pound title 5 instances. He held the belt since December 2019. He believes that his reign atop the division ought to warrant an instantaneous rematch with “El Matador.”
“Clearly, I have been a champ a very long time and I need that rematch,” Volkanovski mentioned through the UFC 298 Submit-Struggle Press Convention.
“That is one thing that should occur. I have been the reigning champ for a way lengthy? I have been a little bit of an organization man. I’ve backed up on quick discover. Fought Max [Holloway] 3 times. You title it, I’ve achieved it,’ Volkanovski continued. “I believe I deserve that and it will be completely different subsequent time.”
Volkanovski congratulated the brand new champion and made no excuses for the loss.
“We knew he’d be quick. We knew he’d be highly effective, clearly. We knew to not be on the cage there and let him catch you there. He did an awesome job there. There’s not a lot I can say aside from congrats to him,” he mentioned.
