Alexander Volkanovski wants UFC to protect Ilia Topuria from other top-ranked featherweights, says he wants to whoop 'El Matador' himself

Alexander Volkanovski weighed in on the current landscape of the UFC featherweight division and made it clear that he has his sights set on Ilia Topuria.

During his UFC 290 media availability, Volkanovski shared his thoughts on Topuria, who has quickly ascended the featherweight rankings. He mentioned that he has taken notice of the hype he has received and noted that he could be the next title challenger:

"[Is Ilia Topuria is next title challenger?] Yeah, I think they've all...youse all hyping him up. A lot of people asking me about him."

The reigning featherweight champion is scheduled to defend his title against interim champion Yair Rodriguez this Saturday at UFC 290, but he is still keeping an eye on the rest of the division. He mentioned that he wants the promotion to keep 'El Matador' prepared as he wants to hand him his first career loss, saying:

"Honestly, keep my top contenders away from him cause I might not be facing him, you know what I mean? Like again, youse saying he's the guy, yeah, cool, that's good. Let's keep him away from everyone, so if he's gonna get a whooping, let's make it from me."

It remains to be seen whether the UFC will book Volkanovski vs. Topuria should the champion successfully retain his title against Rodriguez or if they intend to book 'El Matador' against the winner of Max Holloway vs. Chan Sung Jung.

---

Alexander Volkanovski keeping all his options open for his next bout

Alexander Volkanovski is keeping all his options open with regards to his next bout after UFC 290 this coming Saturday.

During his appearance on The MMA Hour, 'Volk' noted that he intends to remain active after his title unification fight with Yair Rodriguez. He mentioned that Ilia Topuria could be an opponent he pursues and also wouldn't be opposed to a rematch with Islam Makhachev, saying:

"I got Yair [Rodriguez] to worry about. But after that, what is it? is it gonna be Islam [Makhachev]? Is it gonna be Ilia [Topuria], you know what I mean?...Depends how long a certain fight is gonna be, I squeeze one in before that cause I ain't lying when I say I wanna be active."