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Ilia Topuria’s title winning KO at UFC 298 wasn’t just about power
There’s so much that can be said about the narratives surrounding this UFC 298 fight between Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski, the historical significance, and what it could mean for the future of the division and possibly even the sport. After all, featherweight has a tendency to produce both impressively dominant win streaks as well as shocking, unfathomable changing-of-the-guard moments.
But I’ll leave that task to other writers. What needs to be addressed is the immense display of skill from both fighters and the brilliance required on the part of the challenger to bring a swift end to Alexander Volkanovski’s four year reign as the featherweight champion.
In seeing the replays of the sensational knockout, the color commentary pair of Michael Bisping and Joe Rogan offered only the following analysis:
- “There it is. Right on the chin. Out cold. One shot” – Rogan
- “Blitzed forward with a 4-punch combination; nothing really connected but this right hook now – BOOM! One shot, that’s what did it.” – Bisping
- “Unbelievable.” – Rogan
- “Miss. Glance. Miss. BOOM!” – Bisping
- “Out cold. You see his body immediately collapse.” – Rogan
Perhaps we can excuse their lack of analytical detail due to the shocking nature of what they had just witnessed, but it would be unforgivable if Ilia Topuria’s perfectly crafted knockout went down in the history books as just a result of his power.
The Volkanovski Plan
Alexander Volkanovski came prepared to give Ilia Topuria a look he hasn’t seen before in the UFC: a circling outfighter with a plethora of kicks and a lightning fast jab. It’s an approach the has frustrated even all-time great fighters like Max Holloway.
The key for Volkanovski was to use his kicks to punish Topuria’s entries. A boxing heavy approach was expected from Topuria, and that meant that he was going to be closing the distance with his weight heavy on his lead leg. Volkanovski was then ready to target that leg with low kicks to disrupt Topuria and hopefully dissuade him from finding his most dangerous range, the pocket.
However, Topuria was largely undeterred and continued to press forward into his preferred range. That’s where the next part of Volkanovski’s plan comes in: the jab.
We didn’t see much of Volkanovski’s jab in round one because both fighters were still finding their range. But as the distance between the two fighters got closer, Volkanovski used his jab rather than his kicks to halt Topuria’s entries. Also, nearly every time Volkanovski threw his jab he pivoted with it to his left in an attempt to avoid Topuria’s right hand.
For a few minutes it looked like Volkanovski might actually be able to outfox the younger fighter. But notice that both of these important parts of his plan share a desperate need for something: space.
When the Matador Becomes the Bull
Many fighters get very flustered when faced with an elusive opponent who consistently denies fighting them in a phonebooth. Just two fights prior to the main event we saw Geoff Neal get visibly annoyed at the stick-and-move gameplan of his opponent Ian Machado Garry. Providing a stark contrast to Neal, Topuria was unflappable.
Topuria didn’t need to get desperate; there was no need to panic. Rather, he stuck to his game plan and calmy marched Volkanovski down, focusing on tight movements and trusting that if he was diligent, he could win the positional battle of footwork and eventually trap Volkanovski against the cage.
Watch his steady and patient pressure…
Read the full breakdown over at our Substack page.
We continue with three more chapters in the full post, breaking down the chink in Alexander Volkanovski’s armor and go to defense, along with all the reads that Ilia Topuria made leading to the finishing sequence.