Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski could square off at UFC 312 as rematch date 'leaks' online

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Undefeated UFC featherweight champion Ilia 'El Matador' Topuria is rumored to be rematching former king Alexander 'The Great' Volkanovski in just a few months' time.

Yet the pair of MMA superstars could find themselves squaring off, or at least staring each other down through the octagon fence, much sooner than fans previously anticipated.

That's because at UFC 312: Du Plessis vs Strickland, Alexander Volkanovski will be in the corner of teammate Colby Thicknesse for his fight against Aleksandre Topuria – older brother of the current UFC featherweight champion.

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Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria could square off at UFC 312

We've got good news and bad news ahead of UFC 312: Du Plessis vs Strickland on February 8.

The bad news is that Cody Haddon has withdrawn from his prelim fight against Aleksandre Topuria; the good news is that undefeated Aussie Colby 'Slickness' Thicknesse is stepping in as a late-notice replacement.

Thicknesse is a long-time teammate of Alexander Volkanovski, with 'The Great' revealing via his YouTube channel that he's set to corner the 7-0 bantamweight against Ilia Topuria’s older brother.

"I'm pretty sure Ilia Topuria's going to be in the corner against almost my little brother, the kid is pretty much family to me… This isn't just some random training partner, this is a legit main training partner [for me], Colby's been that guy from day one.

"It's a crazy story; you've got Ilia's brother, and you've got a guy that's as close to me as family, and I'm going to be there cornering him as well… It's a pretty big fight, but I think Colby's going to handle the pressure, no worries."

Thicknesse has been in training camp for about six weeks, staying in shape just in case somebody did pull out from UFC 312 at the last minute; he also knows that this late notice call-up could be the perfect chance to get 'revenge' for his teammate.

"Not many people get to debut at home, on a PPV, with a champion in your corner – I mean, I get to get revenge for Volk by fighting him, and then Volk gets revenge later."

• OUCH: Ilia Topuria demolishes sparring partners with unbelievable boxing skills and sick liver shots

UFC middleweight 'knows for a fact' title rematch is set for UFC 314

According to undefeated UFC middleweight prospect Bo Nickal, the rematch between Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski has already been scheduled for UFC 314.

"They just announced Ilia and Volk [for] April at UFC 314," Nickal claimed on a recent episode of his 'Nickals and Dimes' Podcast.

"No, it's official, I know for a fact – I don't know that it was announced for a fact, but I know it's happening, that's a fact, yeah that's happening."

The UFC is yet to officially confirm Nickal's claim that Topuria vs Volkanovski 2 will go down at UFC 314, with that event currently scheduled for Saturday, April 12 in Miami Florida.

"I don't know about the rematch; I mean I get it," continued Nickal, expressing his concern for the popular Australian in facing 'El Matador' after being KO'd in their first title fight.

"Volk had to rematch Max Holloway a bunch of times… I love Volk, he's great [but] I don't really see a path to victory for him there.”