Ilia Topuria knocks Alexander Volkanovski out cold to become featherweight champion at UFC 298 and calls out Conor McGregor
Ilia Topuria became the new featherweight champion with a sensational knockout win at UFC 298.
The 27-year-old knocked 145lb legend Alexander Volkanovski out cold with just one punch inside California's Honda Center on Saturday night.
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Volanovski started the bout by aiming kicks at all areas of his opponent's body during a feeling-out process that coincided with the crowd cheering his name.
Topuria began to have success with calf kicks as the round progressed and impressed UFC commentators Joe Rogan and Michael Bisping with his early performance.
However, all three judges scored the frame against him.
Not that it mattered. Topuria closed the show in the second stanza.
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'El Matador' trapped Volkanovski against the fence before rushing in with a combination that included a picture-perfect right hook to the chin.
'The Great' dropped to the floor unconscious but he took a few extra shots from Topuria before the referee stepped in and waved things off.
Topuria is the first UFC champion from Spain.
The Georgian-born fighter, who relocated to Alicante with his family 15 years ago, wants his first featherweight title defence to be history-making.
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Spain has never hosted a UFC event, and he hopes Dana White will allow him to headline a show at home against MMA legend Conor McGregor.
"Conor McGregor, if you still have some balls, I will be waiting for you in Spain," Topuria said during his post-fight interview with Rogan.
'Notorious' is already tied to a fight with Michael Chandler.
The lightweight duo have been booked to face each other for over a year, but the UFC is yet to announce an official date, weight or venue for the bout.
With McGregor seemingly off the table, Volkanovski expressed his willingness to travel to Spain for the chance to win back his old belt.
It remains to be seen if the UFC will sanction a rematch for Volkanovski, who is now riding back-to-back KO losses after he previously suffered a first-round defeat to Islam Makhachev in October.
Speaking after the fight, he said: “We knew he’d be fast and powerful. We knew not to be on the cage there. He did a great job, there’s not much more I can say than congrats.
“Obviously I’ve been champ for a long time and I want that rematch. It needs to happen.
“I’ve been reigning champion for how long? I’ve been a company man and backed up at short notice, fought Max [Holloway] three times. You name it, I’ve done it.
“I’ve been champ for a long time, so I think I deserve it. It’s going to be different next time.”
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