Ilia Topuria shares why UFC Spain dream faces serious roadblocks

Ilia Topuria does not seem too optimistic about the UFC possibly holding an event in Spain. Topuria recently interacted with the mediaa and spoke about the issue.

According to the 28-year-old, the UFC's partnership with ESPN might act as an obstacle to the promotion hosting an event in Spain. Topuria added that the fight time would likely be early in the morning and he would prefer not to compete at that time:

"It's because of the agreement the UFC has with ESPN, the scheduling issue, because if they bring a numbered event to Spain, it ould have to be at 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. to be primetime on US television, so I don't see it as very feasible to have everyone on their feet at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. Even as an athlete, I don't see myself competing at that time. I already did it once in Abu Dhabi, where we had to fight at such a crazy time and I don't want to do it again, to be honest."

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Alexander Volkanovski speaks about Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev

Ever since Ilia Topuria decided to give up the featherweight throne and move up to lightweight, many MMA enthusiasts have been discussing a possible clash between the 28-year-old and the 155-pound king Islam Makhachev.

Former UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski, who has faced both fighters, spoke about the matchup during a recent conversation with Demetrious Johnson.

"I think Islam's going to be a tough matchup for [Topuria] because Islam can be quite defensive and safe. I think he's going to know he needs to play it safe with Ilia because Ilia is going to have that puncher's chance. But I just think those later roundss are going to be very difficult for Ilia."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (1:21:14):