"Do you watch me fight?" - Alexander Volkanovski says Ilia Topuria is 'delusional' in how he sees their fight going down

Alexander Volkanovski was successful in defending his featherweight title for the fifth consecutive time as he knocked out Yair Rodriguez in the third round of UFC 290. While 'The Great' has other options, Ilia Topuria appears to be next in line to challenge for his throne.

Following the No.5-ranked featherweight's comments that he would easily dethrone the champion, Volkanovski labeled 'El Matador' as delusional. Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, the No.2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter stated:

"There's confidence and then there's delusional. Again, I don't mind the bloke, but I mean, even with things that he says, it's like, what he's saying isn't really backing up - it just doesn't make sense. It's not confidence. He's like, 'I'd beat him first round'. Like, do you watch me fight? It's just I don't know what he's talking about."

When asked if he thinks Topuria believes what he is saying, Volkanovski responded:

"I don't know. I definitely hope he believes it. I'm sure he's confident. I'm sure he believes he can beat me. Whether he just doesn't know, however, I don't know - he's just not really good at explaining it properly or not explaining it in a way where I think that is ever possible, anyways."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments on Ilia Topuria below:

Following Volkanovski's UFC 290 title fight victory, he faced off with Topuria cage-side, leading to speculation that a bout between the two could be on the horizon. The featherweight champion could put that off in an attempt to once again chase double champ status by challenging Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title.

Check out footage of the face-off below:

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What did Ilia Topuria say about facing Alexander Volkanovski?

Ilia Topuria appeared on The MMA Hour prior to Alexander Volkanovski. The No.5-ranked featherweight shared that he believes he will be able to easily hand 'The Great' his first loss at 145 pounds.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, 'El Matador' stated:

"I have always too much confidence in myself. I don't have any doubts that I can beat him pretty easy. The people think that this is the toughest fight. He says that I'm the easiest fight he's going to have in his whole career. We'll see. We'll see. We'll see. Keep with that same energy, champ."

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments on Alexander Volkanovski below:

Topuria previously claimed that he would defeat Volkanovski in the first round. While the bout could be delayed if 'The Great' pursues double champ status once again, it appears inevitable that the two will clash at some point.