Alexander Volkanovski hopes to rest up, rematch Ilia Topuria in Spain: 'I'm going to get that belt back'

Alexander Volkanovski is willing to go to Spain to get his rematch with Ilia Topuria.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round knockout in Saturday’s UFC 298 headliner at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

UFC CEO Dana White confirmed the promotion’s plans to have Topuria make his first title defense in Spain later this year, and Volkanovski thinks that would line up perfectly for him in terms of a return.

“Next time, it’ll be different, but I’m going to just have a little bit of a rest,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I definitely want that rematch. Spain, what I’m hearing, is going to happen. Dana wants Spain, obviously Ilia wants Spain. That probably won’t be until later in the year.

“So the timing would be perfect for me to spend time with the fam, rest up a little bit, look after myself and then we’ll get back in there. We’ll make it right on my end. I’m going to do everything right for the next one, and I’m going to get that belt back. Mark my words.”

Volkanovski said he was starting to get into his groove in Round 2, before Topuria backed him against the cage and clipped him.

“I think the judges had me up the first round, and I think I was starting to pick it up even more in the second,” Volkanovski said. “I was ready to even go another level. I had him missing, I was starting to touch him, and I was going to start adding on, and he did a great job of getting me to the cage where we knew we didn’t want to be with someone like him.

“He got me there and I probably had better options than looking for a counter. After he backed me up there, he caught me. He did a great job to find that, a great shot, and that’s all you need in this sport.”