‘I know it’s happening for a fact,’ said rising middleweight star Nickal, who is eyeing a spot on the card. Rising middleweight star Bo Nickal has claimed a rematch between Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski is “official” for UFC 314 in April.
![[Ilia Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to become featherweight champion]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/02/18/06/GettyImages-2019417317.jpg)
In February 2024, Topuria knocked out Volkanovski to end the Australian’s three-year reign as featherweight champion. The second-round stoppage, which came four months after Volkanovski suffered a KO by lightweight king Islam Makhachev, forced “Alexander The Great” to take time away from the cage.
Meanwhile, Georgian-Spaniard Topuria retained the belt with a KO of former champion Max Holloway in October. The expectation has long been that Volkanovski, 36, would make his return in a rematch with Topuria, 28, and Nickal suggested that fight will soon take place.
“I might fight on that card. That’s the card I’m trying to fight on. April, Miami.” UFC 314 is due to take place at Miami’s Kaseya Center on 12 April. Volkanovski recorded five successful title defences before dropping the 145lb gold to Topuria, the first-ever UFC champion of Georgian or Spanish heritage.
Topuria’s wins over Volkanovski and Holloway kept him unbeaten, and he is already eyeing a shot at lightweight champion Makhachev – who twice retained the 155lb belt against Volkanovski in 2023, winning on points then scoring a KO in their rematch.
