Bo Nickal created a massive ruckus in the fighting realm when he slipped out that the matchup between Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski was apparently scheduled for UFC 314. Needless to say, the entire fighting community began gossiping about the rematch. The last time ‘The Great’ fought ‘El Matador’, it ended up in a disappointing defeat for the Australian. Ever since then, he has been itching for a rematch. And Nickal confirmed that it was indeed going to happen. But was Nickal really sure of the news?
Taking to his YouTube channel, the former NCAA star said, “They just announced Ilia and Volk. April, UFC 314… It’s official. I know for a fact. I don’t know that it was announced for a fact, but I know it’s happening for a fact. Inside source. I’m announcing it.” Despite being an avid supporter of Volkanovski, Nickal couldn’t find a way for him to win against the featherweight champion. But he claimed to be sure about the matchup for UFC 314. He even claimed that he was trying to fight on that card in April in Miami.
However, when things began to go out of hand and netizens began talking about the matchup pretty loudly, Nickal had to come out clean. He took to X and responded to a video of his YouTube show. He wrote, “Glad to be named the new official fight announcer for the UFC! (Fight isn’t official guys).” No doubt, the MMA realm faced a great intensity of dejection, and Topuria probably would have felt that emotion the most.
Glad to be named the new official fight announcer for the UFC!
(Fight isn’t official guys) https://t.co/YTFjZ0Rg9u
— Bo Nickal (@NoBickal) January 27, 2025
But there was a time when Ilia Topuria refused to fight Alexander Volkanovski at Sydney. However, the former UFC featherweight champion was truly enthusiastic about having a rematch against the Spaniard. Let’s see what the featherweights had to say about the rematch.
Ilia Topuria rejects Alexander Volkanovski’s fight proposal
Before Topuria went up against Max Holloway and became the only fighter to knock him out, ‘Volk’ revealed his plan to fight the winner of UFC 308. And with Topuria’s KO win, it was the Spaniard that Volkanovski planned to go up against. Talking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian foodie revealed, “Perfect world is Ilia in Sydney. But my head’s telling me if Ilia wins, he’s not fighting probably straight away, and he’s not fighting in Sydney definitely… I’ve waited long enough, I’ve rested, did what I had to do, but now ready to get back in there. So, perfect world would be Ilia in February but in Sydney, but I just don’t know if that’s likely.”
But this wasn’t something that Topuria could agree upon. He claimed that there was no way a rematch would happen in Sydney. ‘El Matador’ replied, “I’m the champion, and if you want to fight for the title again, it has to be in Madrid instead of fighting in Australia in front of your people. Why I would give you that advantage?” However, one thing was clear. A rematch was evident.
The two even faced off against each other after the Spanish featherweight champion dropped the BMF champion at UFC 308. No doubt, the rematch between Topuria and Volkanovski is in the plans. But we might not get to watch them go against each other at UFC 314.
When do you think can Topuria fight ‘The Great’ again? Would there be any change in the outcome of the fight? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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