Demetrious Johnson doesn’t like Alexander Volkanovski’s chances in a rematch with Ilia Topuria: “All Ilia has to do is touch him”
Demetrious Johnson has explained why he doesn’t like Alexander Volkanovski’s chances in a rematch against Ilia Topuria.
Last weekend at UFC 298, Ilia Topuria shocked the world by knocking Alexander Volkanovski out cold. In doing so, he vaulted himself into a level of superstardom that we haven’t seen in quite some time.
Many are already talking about the possibility of an immediate rematch between the two. Of course, given the brutal nature of the knockout, it feels like Volk should sit back and recover for a while.
In the eyes of Demetrious Johnson, ‘The Great’ is going to struggle to overcome Topuria if they do clash again.
Demetrious Johnson doesn’t like Volk’s chances in a rematch with Topuria 😕
“If they do a rematch, all Ilia has to do is touch him. He has to run away from Topuria for 25 minutes. It's not like Volkanovski has a range advantage. I don’t think Volkanovski’s faster than him.
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 21, 2024
Johnson’s Volkanovski view
“The question is, does he do an immediate rematch. For me, after listening to the press conference, Volkanovski was like ‘man, I was gonna start adding more things to the fight’. But when I sit here – if Ilia gets the opportunity to touch you, you’re going to sleep. So, I don’t know what other toolset he was going to bring to the fight to stop Ilia from getting to him.
“If they do a rematch, all he has to do is touch him. He has to run away from Ilia Topuria for 25 minutes.
“He’s gotta keep on making Ilia gas to where Ilia doesn’t overextend. It’s not like Alex Volkanovski has a range advantage. I don’t think Alex Volkanovski is faster than him. I do think Alex Volkanovski does use more tools with the kicks and the push kicks, but I truly feel like Ilia Topuria is a bad matchup for Alex Volkanovski because he doesn’t get frustrated.”
Do you agree with Demetrious Johnson? Let us know your thoughts, BJPENN Nation!
