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Ilia Topuria's elder brother Aleksandre is all set to enter the octagon in his promotional debut at UFC 312. A former UFC star expressed surprise over Aleksandre's debut based on his MMA record.
'El Conquistador' is scheduled to take on Colby Thicknesse in a bantamweight showdown on the preliminary card of UFC 312. The reigning UFC featherweight champion will be in the corner of his elder brother. Meanwhile, Thicknesse will have the former featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski in his corner for the fight.
Derek Brunson took to X and posted a poster showing Topuria's record of 5-1, expressing surprise over his entry into the company. Brunson compared his UFC debut with the diversity, equity, and inclusion program and captioned the post by writing:
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"DEI hire. how buddy get in at 5-1."
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Ilia Topuria open to defending his featherweight title against Alexander Volkanovski
Ilia Topuria won the featherweight title after defeating Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 via second-round knockout. He followed it up with a dominant title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 308 where he dispatched the former champion via third-round knockout.
Thereafter, Topuria expressed his desire to become a two-division champion. He recently called out the UFC lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev after the latter defended his title at UFC 311 against Renato Moicano.
However, in an interview with Niko Pajarillo of Fox Sports Australia, 'El Matador' expressed his willingness to defend his championship against Volkanovski if he doesn't move to the lightweight division.
"Yeah, if I stay in 145 no one else deserves the fight more than him. I have to give him the rematch because he deserves that. It's not something that I decide. He owns his shot. So, if I stay at 145, I will do that. I don't want to do that again because I like Volk, and I know what's going to happen if we face each other again."
Topuria further added:
"I represent the new generation of mixed martial arts. I bring a different type of game that he's used to. So, I know what's going to happen. Maybe the next time, instead of knocking him out, I will submit him. Maybe I'm going to change that to a different type of clip."
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below (3:38):
