It is not strange to think that a fighter with so much charisma and self-confidence as Ilia Topuria, has kept his word in front of thousands of fans who watched the Topuria effect hit hard in Anaheim.
A man who showed his cards in the octagon for a hard-fought second round victory over an Alexander Volkanovski who has had an immaculate career in the UFC.
Ilia embraces heel role
The championship challenger has become the main figure of the fight based on empty promises. As much as he promised to knock out his opponent in the first round, or get his 15th win inside the company, it was something he still couldn't assure on the basis of facts.
But his charisma has been repeated throughout all the interviews he has given to each of the media outlets that have allowed him to generate worldwide exposure for a fight billed as 'the best of the century'.
Be that as it may, Ilia Topuria has been consistent in every one of his messages and at every moment has had a provocative attitude in favor of all his confidence. He is aware of all that he is capable of achieving with his skills and he has not shaken his pulse to sentence the champion Alexander Volkanovski.
On media day he took the privilege of grabbing the belt to take his opponent out of the ring. Including the day of the conference in which he stood up to steal the belt again in defiance of his opponent.
An attitude that many label him as arrogant. Still, the fighter has taken the tone of the showdown and decided to generate the show that defines him so much to have every aspect of the fight under control.
"I'm going to take it back."
It has been the outstanding message before getting on the octagon. taken as an example the role of a 'heel' wrestler who seeks to get on everyone's nerves, and has referred to his opponent in every moment that has pointed him out as the past. It is the figure that seeks to provoke the public in order to opt for more motivation for his fight.
In Anaheim the crowd passed judgment and the boos were repeated at every intervention of the challenger. Ilia has surpassed that frontier that has managed to add reactions among the public. It is the spice that has given us a magical main event. Dana White said at the press conference, "I have never experienced such a hot main event".
Without mincing words or comparisons, he was direct in indicating that his challenge was to knock him out in the first round. Something that does not end up happening until knocking him out in the second round. The 27-year-old Spanish-Georgian becomes the first in the featherweight division to knock out Alexander Volkanovski.
Volkanovski, the face of the fight
A claim for all the spectators who wanted to see again a fighter who has defended for several years his championship. This type of defense is what defines a true champion in the UFC.
On the day of the face-off he looked confident dressed as a grandfather. He had taken to the letter the figure of the veteran fighting before the new promises of the featherweight division. Not only that, he wanted to teach a lesson to a fighter who was too overmatched for the bout.
Dressed on the day of the conference like a grandfather he didn't want to listen to the challenger to prove that he is above anyone . Words were not going to mean anything to the featherweight division champion. A direct message to all his fans to speak inside the octagon.
A tough defeat that will not make him lower his head and he is already asking for a rematch. Since he did not know how to stop the storm of his opponent in the second quarter. But the role of the face is to set an example and to be the standard of all the fans against the provocative fighters who disrespect.
Whether in Madrid or in the United States, everything indicates that a rematch may be possible. Why the 'duel of the century' has become a generational fight where a great champion who has 26 wins and 4 losses succumbed to an Ilia Topuria who has never lost.