Aleksandre Topuria is making his own way in the world but it’s impossible not to notice his famous last name as the brother of UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. Now the 29-year-old prospect is probably going to hear it even more in his debut at UFC 312 after getting a new opponent with ties to Alexander Volkanovski.
On Wednesday, UFC officials announced that Cody Haddon is out of his fight at UFC 312 due to injury but replacing him is undefeated Australian prospect Colby Thicknesse, who is a longtime training partner of Volkanovski.
In fact, Volkanovski is planning to corner Thicknesse in his octagon debut in Australia when he faces Topuria.
“How good is this? Very excited for Colby,” Volkanovski said along with the announcement. “There’s not a more deserving person than Colby Thicknesse. He’s probably the hardest worker I know on the planet. He’s got heart. He’s got the discipline. No one’s more committed than this guy.”
Volkanovski praised Thicknesse as one of his main training partners for most of his career and their friendship dates back when the UFC newcomer was still just a teenager. Now Volkanovski has the opportunity to help Thicknesse get ready for a short-notice opportunity against Topuria in his native Australia.
Topuria enters the UFC with a 5-1 record including three victories in a row all by knockout.
The new fight between Topuria and Thicknesse remains on the UFC 312 prelims with the event scheduled to take place on Feb. 8 from Sydney, Australia.
The main event that night sees middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis take on Sean Strickland in a rematch while Zhang Weili puts her strawweight title on the line against Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event.
