"Would be sick if true" - Fans welcome the idea of Ilia Topuria targeting former featherweight champ for a matchup in Spain

No.5-ranked UFC featherweight Ilia Topuria has a date with destiny next February. ‘El Matador’ is all set to face off with Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title in the headline bout of UFC 298.

Despite being faced with arguably the greatest 145lber of all time in ‘The Great’, Ilia Topuria already seems to be looking to a hopeful future as a featherweight champion.

In a recent interview with the Overdogs Podcast, ‘El Matador’ stated that after he beats Volkanovski in February, he expects to defend his title against former champion Max Holloway in his adopted home country of Spain.

Unsurprisingly, fans on social media have reacted to this idea in a largely positive way, with many fans loving the idea of a Topuria vs. Holloway fight.

X user @AfrikanChefZA seemed impressed with Topuria’s attitude, while @DoloJm labelled ‘El Matador’ “the real deal”.

“I like his confidence I hope it pays off.”

“Ilia is the real deal people will learn sooner rather than later”

@ZayZay45x suggested that Topuria would come out on top against both Volkanovski and Holloway.

“Nobody beats Topuria”

Plenty of other fans, on the other hand, suggested Topuria is making a big mistake by seemingly overlooking Volkanovski. @tagg_george, @Westkanjalo and @MJRMoore7 were amongst them.

“Overlooking Volk will get you embarrassed in the octagon Topuria”

“he is getting ahead of himself, I don’t think he beats Alex the Great Volk.”

“Except for the “beating Alexander Volkanovski” part he could be right”

Meanwhile, many fans, including @_iamsammyD and @MandizaZimba, also picked up on the idea that Volkanovski would be entitled to an immediate rematch even if Topuria were to beat him.

“No way Volk doesn’t get an instant rematch even if he loses.”

“You have to beat Volk twice before you can start making those plans”

View a collage of comments on this below:

Fans comment on Ilia Topuria's plans

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Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski – Should ‘El Matador’ really be looking towards Max Holloway?

Ilia Topuria seems to be eyeing a fight with Max Holloway in the future, but should he really be doing this before he faces Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight title?

Many observers would suggest no, but in a recent interview, Topuria explained the mindset he’s bringing into his title fight with ‘The Great’.

‘El Matator’ claimed that his unbeaten status would give him the edge against Volkanovski because, unlike the Australian, he simply didn’t know how losing felt.

Whether this is the case, only time will tell, but it’s perhaps fair to question how well Volkanovski will bounce back from his nasty KO loss to Islam Makhachev in October.

Watch Ilia Topuria discuss his future fights below: