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Alexander Volkanovski has the date for his next title defense.
The reigning featherweight champion faces top contender Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 (Feb. 18 in Volkanovski’s native Australia), the promotion announced Wednesday.
Volkanovski vs. Topuria was previously announced to take place sometime in February by UFC CEO Dana White, with a date yet to be determined. The location for UFC 298 is still pending.
It is also not yet known if Volkanovski vs. Topuria is the finalized main event.
Originally rumored to be competing at UFC 297 in January in Toronto, Volkanovski instead jumped on a short-notice opportunity this past October to rematch lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. After earning a close decision win over Volkanovski in their first meeting at UFC 284, Makhachev shut the door on the rivalry with a first-round knockout in their second meeting.
Despite those setbacks, Volkanovski (26-3) remains the man to beat at 145 pounds. The Australian star has never lost at featherweight and looks to defend his UFC title for a sixth consecutive time when he fights Topuria in February. He made it five straight successful defenses when he defeated Yair Rodriguez by third-round TKO this past July.
Volkanovski currently sits at No. 2 in MMA Fighting’s Pound-for-Pound rankings.
Topuria (14-0) has won all six of his UFC outings, with four of those fights ending inside the distance. In his most recent bout, Topuria earned a lopsided decision win over Josh Emmett to cement himself as the next man in line to challenge Volkanovski. He is tied with Rodriguez for the No. 3 spot at 145 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.
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