"This movie villain is winning me over" - Fans react to Ilia Topuria giving himself pep talk before his Alexander Volkanovski fight

MMA fans have been reacting to a clip of Ilia Topuria giving himself a pep talk before he stepped into the octagon to face Alexander Volkanovski.

'El Matador' stunned the world in the UFC 298 main event when he stopped 'The Great' in the second round with a vicious KO to capture the featherweight title. The victory not only etched Topuria's name in UFC history, but he also became the first man to defeat the Australian at 145 pounds.

Prior to their clash, Topuria had come under fire from fans for his confidence heading into the fight, with many perceiving his actions and comments as disrespectful. One such instance was Topuria changing his Instagram bio to say he was already the featherweight champ.

Now, fans are appearing to see Topuria in a different light after a video of the Georgian-Spaniard from behind the scenes went viral. In the video, Topuria can be seen psyching himself up before making his walk to the cage. He said:

"It's time to fulfill the dream. All good things are on the other side of fear. It's written...I'm going to win spectacularly."

Fans have been reacting to the video, with many now admitting they are starting to warm to the newly crowned featherweight champion. One fan wrote:

"This movie villain is winning me over"

Another wrote:

"Self belief is a powerful drug"

One added:

"The new guys are always hungrier"

Another said:

"This guy’s my new favourite fighter!"

X user @freessaint wrote:

"As much as it hurts to see volk getting knocked out, i’m officially a fan of Topuria"

Check out more reactions to Ilia Topuria's video here:

More fan reactions

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Yair Rodriguez calls out Ilia Topuria ahead of UFC Mexico bout against Brian Ortega

Yair Rodriguez is not a fan of Ilia Topuria and has called for a title shot should he defeat Brian Ortega this weekend.

Rodriguez and Ortega are set to run back their 2022 clash after their first bout was cut short following a first round shoulder injury to 'T-City'.

At UFC Mexico media day this week, 'El Pantera' was then asked about his fight against Ortega and his thoughts on Topuria's title victory. According to Rodriguez, his eyes are firmly set on a showdown against 'El Matador'. He said:

''I love to f**k him up. No, I don't want to fight him, I want to f**k him up. There is a f**king big difference on that, to make that clear and anywhere I f**king see him, I'll f*ck him up.''

He added:

''F**k this b*tch, I don't f**king like him.''

Catch Rodriguez' comments regarding Ilia Topuria here (3:45):