"Didn’t even get close to him” - Alexander Volkanovski hypes up Israel Adesanya’s form after sparring ‘The Last Stylebender’ ahead of UFC Riyadh 

Alexander Volkanovski is currently getting back into the swing of training as he prepares for his return to the octagon later this year. 'The Great' recently traveled to New Zealand to link up with teammates and friends Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker at their gym, City Kickboxing, in Auckland.

Both Hooker and Volkanovski shared sparring sessions with Adesanya, who has less than two weeks until his UFC Riyadh clash against Nassourdine Imavov. The former champion's striking coach, Mike Angove, recently stated that Adesanya is a "different physical specimen' entering his clash with Imavov during an interview with Submission Radio.

'The Last Stylebender' notably faced Sean Strickland and Alex Pereira while carrying injuries. Ahead of his return to fighting it appears that Adesanya has put in immense amounts of hard work to be physically prepared.

Volkanovski recently spoke to Sky Sports NZ alongside Dan Hooker, where he shared an exciting preview of Adesanya's fighting form after having sparred the former champion. He said this:

"He was taking it easy. When it was my attack, I didn't even get close to him. That's a pretty good sign, I guess. I was like, 'Let me at least get a leg kick or something in!' Yeah, he's looking good."

Watch Alexander Volkanovski discuss Israel Adesanya below (13:15):

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Ilia Topuria turned down UFC 313 offer against Alexander Volkanovski, claims Dan Hooker

Ilia Topuria defeated Max Holloway at UFC 308 in October to successfully defend his featherweight title for the first time. Following the bout, he shared a face-off with Alexander Volkanovski in the octagon, and it appeared that a rematch between the pair had been all but signed.

With no obvious contenders for 'El Matador' to face outside of Volkanovski, the expectation was that they would clash in a bout in 2025. But according to Dan Hooker, Topuria turned down an offer to face 'The Great' at UFC 313 on Mar. 8.

'The Hangman' will be appearing on March's pay-per-view card in an exciting matchup against Justin Gaethje. Following the bout's announcement, Hooker appeared on Submission Radio, where he said this:

"They wanted to put Volk and Ilia on the [UFC 313] card as well but Ilia said he needs six months to make weight or something. I'm like, 'Bro, what?'"

Check out Dan Hooker discussing Alexander Volkanovski's next fight below (10:40):