Former featherweight champion  Alexander Volkanovksi found out when everyone else did that  Ilia Topuria was vacating the 145-pound title. He knew he was going to face  Diego Lopes but didn’t know the vacant belt would be on the line.  Volkanovski (26-4) held the featherweight world title from December 2019 until February 2024. In that time, he had five successful title defenses and fought for the lightweight championship twice.  “I actually found out when Dana [White] announced it that he  was vacating . I knew it was going to be Diego, like two weeks before,” Volkanovski said on the  Believe You Me Podcast .  “At that stage I was like, ‘Come on.