Michael Bisping thinks Ilia Topuria leaving featherweight worked out well for Alexander Volkanovski.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) decided to vacate his 145-pound title for a move up to lightweight after back-to-back knockouts of Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) and Max Holloway.
After losing to Topuria, Volkanovski was expecting to get his rematch. He won’t get his wish, but Volkanovski will still get a chance to reclaim his title when he meets Diego Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for the vacant belt in the UFC 314 main event April 12 at Kaseya Center from Miami.
“This whole thing kind of played out, I think, for the best for Volkanovski,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “I love Volkanovski. He’s a tremendous guy. He’s a legendary fighter – one of the greatest featherweights that the sport’s ever seen – but going up against Topuria again, I don’t know if that was the best idea.
“I’m not saying that he couldn’t beat him because every single fight is different, and of course in the first one he was coming off the back of that vicious knockout to Islam Makhachev. But this time, it’s different. He’s 36 years old now. Never mind 35 – never mind that curse. He’s 36, he’s no spring chicken.”
Bisping thinks running things back with Topuria would have likely spelled bad news for Volkanovski. But taking on Lopes, Bisping sees a path back to glory for “The Great.”
“He wants to take on the best people, and I respect him for that, and he wanted that rematch with Ilia Topuria,” Bisping said. “He beat him, he knocked him out, and as a fighter, that affects your pride and your ego and you just want to get that one back.
“However, that ship has sailed. Now there’s a real good chance that Volkanovski becomes the champion again, and then who knows, maybe defends again one more time, two more times, makes a few more million dollars. This, if you ask me, is the perfect scenario for Alexander Volkanovski.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.
