Ilia Topuria is sure he will beat Alexander Volkanovski at their UFC 298 clash. Which, if it were anyone else, would not be outlandish given Topuria’s elite striking skills, confidence, intensity, and championship pedigree. However, he is going to face arguably the greatest featherweight in UFC history, who is still undefeated in that weight division.

While his double-champ aspirations met a horrible end (for now) at the hands of Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, it is important to remember that he took the fight on less than two weeks’ notice. However, coming off two losses in a year, including a humiliating head-kick KO, the likes of which can and have changed fighters, this is perhaps the best time to face ‘Volk’. Or the worst, since he will be looking to make a statement with an emphatic victory over the undefeated Topuria and remind the UFC world just how good he is. And based upon his recent training videos, the Aussie is firmly determined for the latter.

Alexander Volkanovski getting headaches from how hard he is training

Alexander Volkanovski posted a video of him training in the gym intensely to make sure he is ready to take on ‘El Matador’ on February 17 in their main event bout in Anaheim, California. The former rugby player could be seen going all out on the bicycle as his coach urged him on.

After the workout, the featherweight champion spoke about approaching even his workouts as a competition and trying to “kill” himself. ‘Volk’ stated that he had trained so intensely on the bike that he was having headaches.

“You always got to make it a competition, [I’m] trying to kill myself enough as it is on that damn bike. Now they want to make it a competition… Like I said, I started getting headaches and everything just from tensing that hard. That happens every time, every time you go real hard on it, like just from your strain,” he said.

Even as he trains for Topuria, the Aussie found some time to mingle with perhaps the greatest football player of all time.

Volkanovski receives the perfect pass from Tom Brady

Alexander Volkanovski joined the seven-time Super Bowl winner and NFL legend Tom Brady at a Sydney event. The former Patriots and Buccaneers quarterback spoke about his respect and appreciation for Volkanovski and told him how he and his teammates would watch his fights in their locker room.

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Volkanovski, who used to be a professional rugby player (a very similar sport to football), was thrown a long pass from Brady. ‘Volk’ did admirably and caught the pass thrown almost perfectly into his hands by the American. And as UFC 298 inches closer, ‘Alexander The Great’ will be looking to remind everyone, including Brady, why he is considered among the greatest ever to do it in mixed martial arts.

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