Alexander Volkanovski makes opinion clear on who might win the Fighter of the Year between Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira

UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira now has a challenger for his claim to the UFC's Fighter of the Year honors. After the shocking conclusion of UFC 308 last weekend, UFC featherweight champ Ilia Topuria threw his name in the hat for the best fighter of 2024.

'El Matador' did so by doing something that's never been done before, knock Max Holloway out. For his first title defense, pulling off something deemed impossible can truly make someone stand out in a year full of remarkable performances.

With the debate between Pereira and Topuria hot on social media at the moment, former UFC featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski provided his two cents.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Volkanovski said:

"Put it this way, if it wasn't [Alex] Pereira saving cards and putting his belt on the line while saving cards, it would be clearly Ilia [Topuria]. Yeah you've had three defences but the two that Ilia took out and finishing us both, it's hard to pick against Ilia to be honest. I thought, before the weekend, 'How does Pereira not get it?' But then you go out there and get two massive wins like that... That's pretty impressive, man."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below:

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Comparing Alex Pereira's run with Ilia Topuria's in 2024

To shed some light on who should get the Fighter of the Year award this year, it pays to look back at the achievements of both 'Poatan' and 'El Matador' in 2024. On paper, Pereira won three world championship fights while Topuria won two. However, as with MMA math, the devil will always be in the details.

Of those three title fights, Pereira KO'd one defending champion, one former champion, and a No. 8-ranked fighter. The second one, a rematch with former 205-pound kingpin Jiri Prochazka, was on two weeks' notice. If you add the records of the three men he beat this year, it would add up to 55-13-1-2 (win-loss-draw-NC).

As for Topuria, he knocked out one defending champion and one former champion. Both opponents are considered two of the best champions the division has ever seen. His latest victim, former champ Max Holloway, has never been knocked out or even knocked down in his 14-year career so far. Adding Volkanovski's and Holloway's records, you got 52-12 (win-loss).

Even with the numbers laid out, it's still a coin toss between Pereira and Topuria. We'll just have to wait till the end of the year to see who the UFC gives the award to.