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‘That is crazy’: Rogan warns UFC superstar against repeating Volk mistake Joe Rogan has urged UFC superstar Ilia Topuria not to repeat the same mistake Alex Volkanovski made three years ago by rushing back into the Octagon after suffering a brutal defeat. Topuria is plotting his UFC return after losing his lightweight crown and undefeated record to Justin Gaethje at June’s historic White House event. UFC 331: Van v Pantoja 2 | SUN 20 SEPTEMBER 11AM AEST | The UFC returns to Los Angeles for a blockbuster title showdown, as Joshua Van defends his crown against former champion Alexandre Pantoja in a rematch for the ages. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. But after the Spaniard suffered two fractured orbital bones, a shattered septum and a broken foot during the savage encounter, Rogan believes he should be careful. And for proof of just how badly a rushed return can go, Rogan pointed directly at Volk’s back-to-back knockout losses against Islam Makhachev and Topuria. “It’s going to be interesting to see how he rebounds because that was a lot of damage,” Rogan said on the JRE Show. “Two fractured orbitals, they had to stop the fight in between rounds, and he took big punches from a guy who’s got f***ing rocks in his hands. “Justin can crack. “He’s had a couple of months, but he probably needs like six months before he’s even sparring again.” Topuria entered the Gaethje fight with a perfect 17-0 record after knocking out Volk, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira in succession. But Gaethje ate Topuria’s best shots and kept coming before handing the lightweight superstar a savage beating. Topuria’s corner eventually stopped the fight after the fourth round, bringing a shocking end to both his undefeated record and title reign. The 29-year-old then disappeared for months from public view before revealing the full extent of the physical and emotional damage he had suffered in a lengthy statement. “He’s a very mentally strong guy, and I think he will bounce back in that regard,” Rogan said. “It’s just there’s also the reality of how much damage – and only he knows how much damage he actually took in that fight – and how that affects him as well. “There’s only a few of those kinds of fights that you can have in your career, and you’ve got to be very careful how you recover from those.” Rogan then turned to Volkanovski, whose own decision to return quickly from a devastating knockout remains one of the biggest talking points of his legendary career. The Aussie MMA legend stepped in on just 12 days’ notice to challenge Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 294 in October 2023, only to be knocked out by a thunderous first-round head kick. Despite the severity of that defeat, Windang’s Finest returned less than four months later to defend his featherweight crown against Topuria at UFC 298. The Aussie was knocked unconscious again, this time by a brutal right hand in the second round, as Topuria claimed the title and announced himself as one of the UFC’s biggest stars. “A lot of fighters, a lot of great fighters, have made the mistake of coming back too soon,” Rogan said. “Volkanovski is one that I point to all the time, who’s arguably the greatest featherweight of all time. “He is one of the most masterful fighters in the game. “He took a short-notice fight with Islam in the rematch and got head-kicked, and then I think it was only four months later that he was fighting Ilia. “And that is crazy. That’s a crazy thing to do. “He took a full head kick, shin to the dome, gets KO’d, and then four months later he’s fighting the f***ing scariest challenger that he’s ever had to face.” Volk eventually took more than a year away following the Topuria defeat before returning to reclaim the vacant featherweight title against Diego Lopes at UFC 314. Topuria must now decide whether to follow the same patient path. However, there is mounting speculation the UFC could instead send him straight back into the fire against Gaethje. Commentator Jon Anik recently revealed there had been internal discussions about an immediate rematch once both blokes are healthy enough to compete again in 2027. “I think there are internal conversations to potentially try to do Gaethje versus Topuria 2,” Anik said on the Anik Bros YouTube channel. “A lot of people wonder aloud, ‘What is next for Ilia Topuria?’ “There’s certainly an obvious foundation for a fight between him and Paddy Pimblett. But if you have Ilia Topuria, as a fight promoter, would you not want to think about putting him back in a championship setting, given how big UFC Freedom 250 was? “I think there’s strong consideration there.” Anik stressed he was offering “non-informed speculation”, but predicted a second fight would be huge commercially -- and remains the likeliest next step. “I don’t know what Ilia Topuria’s timeline is, but my non-informed speculation is that Gaethje versus Topuria 2, a rematch, would be absolutely enormous,” Anik said. “And I guess, predictively, that’s what I think is going to happen.” Former UFC star Matt Brown can also understand why the promotion is considering it. But while “The Immortal” described the rematch as a good idea from a business and entertainment perspective, he warned the potential cost for Topuria could be enormous. “If I’m the UFC, I don’t think that’s a bad idea,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I don’t dislike it at all. It was obviously an amazing fight, and Justin Gaethje is always going to be a banger. “I don’t think it’s ever a bad idea to put him in there with another guy that’s going to be a banger.” Yet Brown believes the UFC must first determine whether Topuria needs a confidence-building return rather than another immediate stoush with one of the sport’s most destructive fighters. “The downside of that fight, you might ruin Ilia Topuria’s life,” Brown said. “If that first fight repeats itself, I’m not sure Ilia comes back the same. I’m not sure he comes back from the first one already. “If you actually care about Ilia’s life, you need to put him in there with someone like a [Renato] Moicano. “He needs a proper return fight, in my opinion.”