"Everybody's gonna be switching full 180" - Alexander Volkanovski reiterates lightweight ambitions ahead of UFC 298 featherweight title fight

UFC 298's headliner, Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria, is one that the promotion's reigning featherweight kingpin feels will cause his detractors to reconsider their current stance with him. Many are wary of 'The Great's' chances against Topuria due to several factors.

First, Volkanovski is 35 years old, which is generally the age range when fighters in the lighter weight classes start to decline. Second, he recently suffered a crushing knockout loss to Islam Makhachev and is returning four months afterward to take on a dangerous knockout artist in Topuria.

Volkanovski, however, is dismissive of such concerns, with his thoughts on the matter shared on X/Twitter by TheMacLife interviewer Oscar Willis.

"Everybody's gonna be reminded, and then everybody is gonna be switching a full 180 saying there's nothing left for me at 145, and they want me to go take that lightweight belt … Lightweight definitely in the near future."

Volkanovski's prior two bouts at lightweight in the UFC were unsuccessful. Both, however, were against Makhachev, with whom he had a widely acclaimed war in their first encounter, losing via controversial unanimous decision. Their second fight was an even more devastating loss for 'The Great'.

He was knocked out by a head kick and follow-up punches in round one. Regardless, Volkanovski, who has been dismissive of Topuria's skills, believes that UFC 298 will be a showcase for him, the results of which will cause everyone to rethink their current assessment of him, urging him back to lightweight.

By contrast, Topuria is supremely confident that he will find the finish against the always-durable and always-game Volkanovski.

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UFC 298's other marquee fights

While Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria will headline UFC 298 in a featherweight title bout, it will also feature several other noteworthy matchups. In fact, it has been marked as one of the promotion's strongest cards thus far. For example, the UFC 298 co-main event features Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa.

The middleweight clash between a former champion and one-time title challenger is also enhanced by Whittaker's frustration with Costa's previous withdrawals from their UFC Vegas 24 and UFC 284 bouts. Meanwhile, the streaking Merab Dvalishvili takes on ex-double champion Henry Cejudo at bantamweight.