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Fresh off UFC 298 is this week’s edition of the MMA Hangover. We’re kicking things off with now former champion Alexander Volkanovski releasing his first statement and fight breakdown after Saturday night’s tough loss.
Alexander Volkanovski releases statement, breakdown of UFC 298 loss to Ilia Topuria
From sitting on top of the UFC’s featherweight division and being crowned the division’s greatest, Alexander Volkanovski now finds himself reeling from a second straight knockout loss in just four months.
But as he always is, the 35-year-old former champion was in relatively good spirits despite the loss. Alexander Volkanovski released a short statement via his YouTube channel, and like the fighter that he is, he promises to bounce back.
“I always break down fights when I win, I’m going to make sure I break down them when I lose too,” Alexander Volkanovski said. “This is a crazy game we play. You can’t win them all. Sometimes you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail. I’ve been the hammer many times, ruined a lot of people’s parties many times. Last night, Ilia got the job done.
“I think the judges had me up the first round, and I think I was starting to pick it up even more in the second. I was ready to even go another level. I had him missing, started to touch him,” Volkanovski said. “I was going to start adding on, and he did a great job of getting to the cage, where we knew we didn’t want to be with someone like him. He got me there.”
“I probably had better options than looking for a counter. After he backed me up there, he caught me. He did a great job to find that.”
Alexander Volkanovski called the finishing blow a “great shot.” He then called for a rematch with the new king, Ilia Topuria, in Spain.
“Next time, it will be different, but I’m just gonna have a little bit of a rest. I definitely want that rematch. Spain’s what I’m hearing’s gonna happen.
“Dana wants Spain, obviously Ilia wants Spain. That probably might be later in the year, so obviously, the timing would be perfect for me to spend time with the fam, rest up a little bit, look after myself, and then we’ll get back in there and we’ll make it right.”
It was a decisive win for Topuria, which, in theory, doesn’t always warrant an immediate rematch for the losing fighter. Add that to the fact that Alexander Volkanovski’s chin has taken a severe beating over a short period.
But the man still has it, and I guess I can speak for a good chunk of fans that it would be interesting to see if Alexander Volkanovski could bounce back and reclaim the belt.
In Other News
Dana White explains UFC 300 headliner booking
As the card began building up over the past months, there was a lot of talk about UFC 300’s headliner fight. Was it going to involve the company’s currently shelved golden child? Would we see a Nate Diaz return? Ronda Rousey? Brock Lesnar?
The situation finally came to a head over the weekend when UFC CEO Dana White made the announcement. As you probably all know by now, headlining the April 13th milestone event in Las Vegas is a light heavyweight title fight between champion Alex Pereira and former champion Jamahal Hill.
After all that build-up, several people were left underwhelmed, and they made sure to let their feelings known via social media.
But how did we get here? According to Hill, he only found out a day before White made it official.
“Everybody wanted to headline 300. Everybody wants to be on 300. But realistically, it didn’t really come on my radar, and didn’t really happen until yesterday. I’m not even gonna lie. Yesterday,” he told veteran correspondent Aaron Bronsteter in a backstage interview at UFC 298.
“They needed a main event. They had some things lined up, but they would’ve preferred me and Alex. It was the first option, it was what they really wanted, the people definitely wanted.”
According to White, however, they were looking at a few options, one involving welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
“Let me say this: Leon Edwards has had, like, three opponents throughout this thing. Leon Edwards doesn’t say no to anybody. This kid is an absolute stud.
“He’s had three opponents thrown at him during UFC 300. Yes, yes, yes. Was willing to take on anybody,” he told the media during Saturday’s post-fight presser.
That still does not answer the question of how we got here. Well, even the bossman didn’t have a clear response.
“It was not about money. It’s all about timing. We’ve got three killer cards in a row, and in this business, you have injuries and all kinds of other bullshit that goes on behind the scenes.
“We’ve been talking about 300 forever, and we’re just trying to make the best fights that we could possibly make.”
Regardless of how far below it is in their list of options, it is still a solid matchup. Pereira’s road to two division titles is unheard of in recent UFC history, and Hill has not had the chance to defend the belt he willingly gave up after suffering an injury.
It may not have fulfilled the expectations of many fans, but here we are. It should be a good one, at the very least.
Fighters’ Words
Ilia Topuria’s self-belief is on another level. Here he is tweeting about his eventual title win three days before he fought Alexander Volkanovski.
And here’s the ex-champ-champ’s response to El Matador’s post-fight callout.
Max Holloway gave props to a former foe and one of the sport’s uncrowned legends.
In Case You Missed It
Mackenzie Dern says comments made by Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier made her cry. The UFC strawweight contender and ADCC champion opened up about how critiques of her performance affected her deeply. (link)
How Ilia Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski: BE’s resident analyst Kostas Fantaousakis broke down UFC 298’s headliner where Alexander Volkanovski lost his title. (link)
UFC 298’s reported payouts show ex-champ is making less than a prelim fighter: According to reports, Mackenzie Dern took home $50K more than Henry Cejudo on Saturday night. (link)
Hangover Cure
I’m sure you’re all familiar with the UFC’s banger of a track that opens every PPV main card. I’m talking about The Who’s Baba O’Riley, the tune that plays along the montage of supercut highlights featuring past and present fighters.
But I’m not sure if many of you have seen this played live during its heyday in the 70s (I’m talking to you, fellow millennials). But thanks to the time capsule that is YouTube, we get to enjoy these performances.
There’s a lot to unpack from this five-minute clip, whether it’s Roger Daltrey’s electrifying howls, Pete Townshend’s theatric, jacket-tearing, booty-shaking guitar playing, and, of course, the late great Keith motherf–ng Moon behind the kit, with a pair headphones taped to his head.
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