Aleksandre Topuria feels ‘no pressure’ with Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski Corner Battle on UFC 312

Aleksandre Topuria understands why there is an extra story for his Octagon debut, but it will not affect him in any way.

Topuria, the brother of the current UFC Featherweight -Master Ilia Topuria, is facing Colby Techolnessse this Saturday at UFC 312 in Sydney. The six-match bantamweight veteran has his brother in his corner, while Thicnesse previously has 145 pounds of master and man Topuria took the belt from UFC 298 a year ago-Alexander Volkanovski in Hans.

The fact that Volkanovski corners against him have no influence on Topuria.

“There is no rivalry – there is Aleksandre Topuria and Colby inside the cage,” Topuria told MMA Fighting. “I’ve been there, we won that match. We once had the fight, pressure would be on him. There is no pressure for me and if Alexander Volkanovski (s) will be there, happy for him. Very good. See you there.

“But I have another guy inside the cage this time, so my focus is on him 100 percent. It’s him, not anyone else. But if you want to talk about what you think may be pressure or something similar let’s not talk about Alexander. Let’s talk about a guy looking from the outside. Usually, if you play football, you go 1-0, who has been pressing?

“Because if you win, it’s 1-1. If you put the ball inside (the net) it’s 1-1 and if I win, it’s 2-0, you know what I mean? “

“El Conquistador” is competing for the first time in almost two years this weekend. Topuria understands that having an incredibly successful brother made his way to Octagon a little faster than it should have been, but still embraces the challenge.

Topuria says the reason for his long dismissal is that he set his fighting career to wait to prepare his brother to fight Volkanovski on UFC 298 in his first title match and then to get Ilia ready for his title defense against Max Holloway.

As long as he has cornered Ilia in his matches, Aleksandre says his brother has always returned advantage – and then some. And he does it again this Saturday.

“Ilia has been in my corner since I started competing and the first competition was in wrestling,” Topuria explained. “All the time he was my corner. So having him in the corner is like Elixir for me. I don’t hear anything all the time (outside) his voice in my head. Certainly (I can hear) the coaches, but for the most part it is when he speaks to me – something in the direction of that I have heard all my life. The same thing happened to him.

“It’s like some voice that you want to hear (ahead) millions of people, and when he speaks, you listen to that voice. So for me it is very important to have him in the corner. For me it gives me strength. He gives me everything I need to be inside the cage. I believe in him.

“It’s like when I go into the cage, I know I have another Alektandre outside the cage, which is Ilia Topuria.”

While Topuria is debuting in the UFC in just his seventh pro match, Thikkehale also makes his first promotional walk as he accepted the match as a late-note replacement for the wounded Cody Haddon. Thickness is 7-0 and gets his shot with UFC after caught the Hex Fight series Bantamweight title in November with a first round of knockout.

Topuria says he has embraced the extra attention, photo opportunities and interviews he has received this week – which is much more than your typical debut fighter. He thinks it’s just the first of many fighting weeks of that kind, and his story will write his emphatic next chapter this weekend in his first UFC match.

“If you want to talk like that, I have no pressure and there will be no one,” Topuria said. “Truly, I want to be humble and talk. I don’t mind Colby Techolness, but what I feel in my heart and in my mind he can’t win this fight. I won’t let him win this match. I’m ready to die but for the most part I’m ready to kill. So that’s what I feel really. “