“Of course, he’s going to be cocky,” Volkanovski told Fox Sports Australia of Topuria’s prediction. “He knocked me out. He thinks he’ll do it again, and he has every right to think that. But I’m going out there to change that, get that belt back. So while he has every right to think like that, he won’t know until I show him.”

An interesting subplot at UFC 312 involves UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and former champ Alexander Volkanovski who will be cornering against each other on Saturday when Topuria's brother faces one of Volkanovski's teammates.