Dana White: As much of a stud as Ilia Topuria is, ‘he’s got a lot to prove still’

Dana White: As much of a stud as Ilia Topuria is, ‘he’s got a lot to prove still’

Dana White thinks Ilia Topuria is yet to prove himself against the established names at featherweight.

Topuria (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) challenges featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (26-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 298 main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Volkanovski is a five-time defending champion that’s never lost at 145 pounds. His resume includes wins over former champions Max Holloway and Jose Aldo, as well as division staples like Chad Mendes, Chan Sung Jung, Brian Ortega, and Yair Rodriguez. Topuria is undefeated, but White says his resume doesn’t stack up the same.

“When you look at the names, when you start talking about who he’s beat, what was at stake when he beat them, all those kind of things, that’s what Topuria doesn’t have yet,” White told Kevin Iole.

“So you can have all the stats you want, but he doesn’t have all that big-fight experience. This is going to be his first one. This is his first major name and first big fight. As much of a stud as the guy is, he’s got a lot to prove still.”

White isn’t sure about Topuria’s dismissal of the top featherweight contenders and his pursuit of Conor McGregor, but doesn’t fault him for his confidence.

“I don’t know about that,” White said of Topuria’s callout of McGregor. “I think he’s got a lot to (prove). Listen, when you’re undefeated, you’ve never tasted defeat, and you’ve been on the rise that this guy is on, that’s the way you should be thinking and that’s what your mentality should be. But we’ll see how it plays out on Saturday night.”