Alexander Volkanovski breaks down Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira while issuing definitive prediction: "It's an interesting one"

Alexander Volkanovski recently gave his take on Ilia Topuria's fight against Charles Oliveira and even predicted a knockout win for the Georgian-Spaniard.

Topuria and 'do Bronx' will be fighting for the vacant lightweight championship at UFC 317 this Saturday. Volkanovski indicated that Oliveira's aggressive fight style could potentially leave openings for 'El Matador', which can lead to a knockout finish.

While providing his analysis during an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, the UFC featherweight champion said:

"I've got Ilia. I think just stylistically and what we've seen, you know, Charles... is very aggressive, very exciting fighter, that's why we all love to watch him. But, if he comes aggressive like that, there's going to be opportunities for Ilia, and Ilia can bang... Charles could definitely catch him, but you can be hittable if you come aggressively like that, especially with someone like Ilia who's going to back himself."

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He added:

"Will [Topuria] want to be defensive first because he knows how aggressive Charles is going to come forward? It's an interesting one because we don't know how [Topuria] is on the backfoot... We'll see what happens, but if he comes aggressive and does what he always does, I think Ilia [wins]. I think it's a knockout."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (3:07):

Ilia Topuria predicts "first round" finish against Charles Oliveira

Ilia Topuria is unbeaten in professional MMA, with his last two victories being knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. In contrast, Charles Oliveira has a record of 1-1 in his last two fights.

In a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Topuria shared his prediction for his fight against Oliveira:

"This [is] what's going to happen with Charles — he thinks that he has some opportunities, but the reality is that he has not. The only thing he has to do is show up, and I'm going to do the rest... I'm going to finish him in the first round... because he walks forward. This is all I need."

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below (15:52):

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A budding sports management professional, Nilaav Gogoi covers MMA at Sportskeeda. His entry into sports journalism began with stints at Sportszion and First Sportz. Nilaav strives to understand the captivating stories surrounding MMA and its various technical aspects. He is dedicated to providing his audience with accurate and well-authored content while ensuring the information remains reliable.

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Edited by Nilaav Gogoi