UFC 298 takes place this weekend and fans will witness the third title fight of the year. Alexander Volkanovski will put his featherweight belt on the line against Ilia Topuria. Going into the fight, Topuria seems uber-confident in his abilities to stop arguably the greatest featherweight of all time. However, that will be easier said than done. A lot has been made of Topuria and his finishing abilities going into the fight. He is undefeated at the moment with an 85% finish rate.
Topuria made his professional MMA debut in April 2015 with a submission win in the very first round. Topuria fought for several MMA organizations before singing for the UFC in 2020.
The Spaniard quickly rose to fame in the featherweight division thanks to his fighting style and his ability to secure finishes frequently. In his most recent outing, Topuria secured a unanimous decision win over Josh Emmett that earned him a title shot. Given all the claims Topuria has made lately, there are a lot of questions surrounding him.
Ilia Topuria knockouts
‘El Matador’ has secured four of his 14 wins via knockout. The first knockout win of his career came against Stephen Goncalves at Brave CF 29 in November 2019.
The next three knockout wins of his career came in the UFC against Damon Jackson, Ryan Hall, and Jai Herbert. This means that Topuria has secured 28% of his wins via knockout. ‘El Matador’ secured these knockouts consecutively, which makes it even more impressive.
How many submission wins does Ilia Topuria have?
Despite having developed a reputation as a knockout artist recently, Topuria is primarily a grappler and a submission specialist. He has secured eight of his 14 wins via submission thus far. His most recent submission win in the UFC was against Bryce Mitchell at UFC 282.
Where does Ilia Topuria train?
Ilia Topuria trains at Climent club in Alicante, Spain. He is coached by brothers Jorge and Agustín Climent. Javi Climent, not related to the Climent brothers, is Ilia’s boxing coach. He is aiming to become the first Spanish champion in the UFC.
What BJJ belt is Topuria?
The 27-year-old is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He achieved this feat in 2018 after years of blood sweat and tears. He is extremely dangerous on the floor and will be looking to capitalize on that against Alexander Volkannovski.
Topuria’s prediction for UFC 298?
In multiple interviews, Topuria has stated that he feels Alexander Volkanovski is slow as a result of age catching up to him. He believes that he is the new era of champion at featherweight. It will be interesting to see if there is a passing of the guard at UFC 298 or if Volkanovski defends his title yet again.
