Tennis legend Rafael Nadal and current World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz congratulate Ilia Topuria on emphatic KO win at UFC 298

Ilia Topuria took on Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 on Feb. 17, 2024 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Heading into the fight, 'El Matador' was supremely confident.

Fans, however, were skeptical, given Volkanovski's long reign as featherweight champion. On fight night, Topuria proved he was right to believe in himself as strongly as he did prior to the fight.

In the second round, he knocked Alexander Volkanovski out cold. He stalked 'The Great' and cut off the cage, before unloading on the former champion. While Volkanovski showed good defense, one of Topuria's strikes got through and caught him, rendering him unconcious.

Since then, Topuria has seen an outpouring of support. Even prior to the fight, Spanish sporting icons like footballer Sergio Ramos were seen mingling with Topuria at past UFC events.

After the fight, a pair of Spanish superstars from the tennis world took to social media to congratulate 'El Matador' on his title conquest. Rafael Nadal wrote (translated from Spanish):

"Congratulations, champion!"

Carlos Alcaraz also congratulated Topuria. He wrote (Translated from Spanish):

"Brutal @iliatopuria! Congratulations!!!"

The posts from the tennis superstars were captured and shared by TNT Sports' official UFC page, @ufcontnt.

Check out the posts from Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz here:

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Ilia Topuria believes there is no "challenge" in the featherweight division, says rest of the division "sucks"

Speaking to Megan Olivi in his post-fight interview, Ilia Topuria, when asked what was next for him, dismissed many of the contenders at featherweight, and spoke on the importance of bringing new talent to the division.

When asked who he would like to make his first defense against, Topuria said:

"Right now? Nobody. The division really sucks. We need new challengers. We need a couple of more fights in the division. So, we'll see what's gonna happen in the future and hopefully, we're going to have some clear challenger but right now, there is nobody."

Check out the clip here:

Topuria, who currently holds a record of 15-0, has blown the 145 pound division wide open, after dismantling Volkanovski, who had reigned over the division since 2019.

Given the length of 'The Great's' reign, he certainly has a case for an immediate rematch. He, however, has been knocked out twice in his last two fights and so, may require some to heal, leaving room for another contender to potentially challege Ilia Topuria.