Ilia Topuria wants a second title. The Spanish-Georgian superstar became champ by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski, considered the greatest featherweight of all time, defended his title against the second greatest featherweight of all time, and has peaced out to lightweight.

Which, alas, means that ‘Volk’ will not be able to avenge his loss, as he so desperately wanted to. After all, the Topuria loss was the first and only loss in the Aussie’s UFC stint so far at featherweight. And not being able to beat him must be a blow to Volkanovski’s ego at the very least. And just like the rest of us, it seems the Aussie was also caught off-guard by Topuria’s decision to move up.

“Yeah, look, so that’s [a remtach with Topuria is] what we thought it was going to be. I did the face off [with Topuria at UFC 308], so originally, early that’s that’s what I wanted. And then it got to a point where I didn’t know what was happening. And you’re hearing, oh, him even talk about maybe moving up, I’m like, ‘is this just negotiations?’ Like what’s going on? So didn’t think too much of it, so we’re still game planning for Ilia and then you’re hearing, you know, could it maybe be um Lopes?” ‘Volk’ said in an interview with ESPN MMA.

Topuria, of course, had floated the idea of moving up to lightweight late last year, but then clarified that he will stay at featherweight for now. But that didn’t last long, and last month, ‘El Matador’ announced he is vacating the featherweight belt and moving up to 155 for good. The reason for this move, according to ‘El Matador’s coach, Jorge Climent, was that Topuria, who occasionally ballons up to over 180 pounds when out of camp, finds the weight cut to make the 145-pound featherweight limit. And with Topuria out of the way, the UFC decided to match up the Aussie against #3 ranked Brazilian dynamo, Diego Lopes, at UFC 314 on April 14.

“And then I’m like, so by this stage, I’m like ‘all right, just give me anyone now, like, you know.’ So my first option obviously would have been Ilia, but then it got to a point [that I said], ‘Well, I don’t care, just make sure I’m fighting for a title at this date ‘cuz I don’t want to wait any longer. So, yeah, that’s sort of where we’re at,” he added. And it seems Volkanovski, who is coming off a pretty long layoff, will not have to wait long for a cracking title defense in the near future if he beats Lopes.

Alexander Volkanovski challenged to a $1 million belt by legendary featherweight

Well, Alexander Volkanovski likes to stay active and since it has been over a year since his last fight, it is understandable the Aussie is anxious to get back into action. And it seems like ‘Volk’ already has a pretty good opponent should he win the title at UFC 314 — legendary Bellator former champion, Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire.

“Listen, when I was in another organization, I made a bet with Volkanovski. I said, ‘One million bucks if you or I win.’ I know we have got fights coming up, but maybe down the line you wanna keep that bet open?” ‘Pitbull’ said at the UFC 314 press conference.

Freire, a former two-division Bellator champion, is set to make his UFC debut opposite #5 featherweight Yair Rodriguez on the prelim card of UFC 314. And if the debutante can get a big win over Rodriguez, he could well get a title shot right away. “If you put on a good performance. Like I said, I’m expecting to defend my belt a couple of times this year. If you do a good job, I’ll see you then,” Volkanovski replied at the presser. This is actually a great fight for Volkanovski.

Both men are over 35, unlike most of the top five at the moment, and have a bit of a storyline and some real star power. And it seems that is what the UFC is thinking by having ‘Pitbull’ on the same card as ‘Volk’. What do you think about Alexander Volkanovski’s comments about the Topuria fight falling through?