The Length of the Topuria Era?

[HuskySamoan]

Give him Max and then Yair (if he beats Ortega). I said before the fight that I was against the Max/Gaethje matchup. I had a feeling Ilia would win and now Max vs Ilia is the fight to make. I also couldn't agree more that it's fair game to point out Volk's recent choices, behavior etc.... It's a big reason I picked Ilia aside from how talented Ilia is. Topuria's boxing is for real and the Max matchup is something i'm salivating for because of it. The Yair matchup with Ilia is also intriguing to me because of Yair's height and kicking game.

I'm way more interested in Evloev vs Topuria, Ortega needs to do more than beat Yair for a 3rd title shot, similarly Yair needs to do more for a 2nd. It's Evloevs time, he's better than both, younger, undefeated, huge UFC win streak.

 

[The Legendary Scarface]

If Max doesn't get his head caved in by Justin I'd favor Max against him . Other than that he could go on a nice run. Volk could win a decision in a rematch too but it'd be a big hurdle psychologically to overcome. I think Topuria smokes Yair, Ortega, Evsar.

 

[ExitLUPin]

I'd say it's all a negative. Jai Herbert is a12-5-1 regional fighter with no potential that the UFC foolishly signed. Ilia was what? A 5 to 1 favorite in that fight? We're talking about one of the best prospects in the sport and an amazing pure athlete...He wasn't supposed to get frustrated and almost knocked out even a division up vs a gangly guy. We watched Allen smoke Dan Hooker for fucks sake. Steven Goncalves also dropped him with a headkick, even Bryce seemed to frustrate him with kicks.

He also absolutely 1 shot deaded Goncalves too though. Ilia seems to have good recovery.

Hooker was drained to shit tho going back down to 145. Not comparable situation at all.

Max beats Ilia if he doesnt take too much damage against Justin.

 

[Bearknuckle]

Until he’s about 35 or loses

 

[ExitLUPin]

If Max doesn't get his head caved in by Justin I'd favor Max against him . Other than that he could go on a nice run. Volk could win a decision in a rematch too but it'd be a big hurdle psychologically to overcome. I think Topuria smokes Yair, Ortega, Evsar.

This was Volks chance. I was rooting for him but Volk isnt a great finisher and 25 minutes is way too much time for Ilia to catch him. Unlike most Volk opponents besides Mendes and Islam in this matchup he doesnt have a wrestling or grappling advantage.

Volk winning a decision is just not likely. He gets finished again. Volk has to go for broke and try to finish him. Winning a decision against a fighter with Ilias power when youre not the better wrestler or grappler is too tough. He was eating Volks jabs, kicks and Volk was flinching and reacting to that right hand all fight. Max has best shot and beats Ilia IMO. He is worlds more durable than Volk, more output, better combos, strong enough wrestler defensively.

 

[moreorless87]

This was Volks chance. I was rooting for him but Volk isnt a great finisher and 25 minutes is way too much time for Ilia to catch him. Unlike most Volk opponents besides Mendes and Islam in this matchup he doesnt have a wrestling or grappling advantage.

Volk winning a decision is just not likely. He gets finished again. Volk has to go for broke and try to finish him. Winning a decision against a fighter with Ilias power when youre not the better wrestler or grappler is too tough. He was eating Volks jabs, kicks and Volk was flinching and reacting to that right hand all fight. Max has best shot and beats Ilia IMO. He is worlds more durable than Volk, more output, better combos, strong enough wrestler defensively.

I feel Max's problem here though is he's potentially facing more LW level power coming back at him, I'm not sure he'll be able to walk though offence as he has for most of his big BM wins.

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

I'm way more interested in Evloev vs Topuria, Ortega needs to do more than beat Yair for a 3rd title shot, similarly Yair needs to do more for a 2nd. It's Evloevs time, he's better than both, younger, undefeated, huge UFC win streak.

If I had it my way, the next fight would be Max vs Ilia, not Max vs Gaethje. Evloev would probably be next and then Yair if he beats Ortega. I didn't mention Ortega in the last post. He hasn't been active and doesn't have any wins over top competition. I think it's fair to put Yair in this category to a lesser extent. I like the Yair matchup stylistically because of Yair's height and kicking game.

 

[empsim]

If he stays at FW he could rule for a while.

Don't like his chances moving up, he's too small.

 

[Eric Silva 2.0]

Hooker was drained to shit tho going back down to 145. Not comparable situation at all.

Max beats Ilia if he doesnt take too much damage against Justin.

Max is my favorite fighter on the roster but i'm not sure he beats Ilia. It's the fight to make and the Gaethje fight is a waste since Max doesn't belong in that division. I know it will be fun and Max has a decent chance at winning but look at what's happened to Volk. I'm not saying it will happen to Max but it could. Ilia could crack Max's chin. It's possible. I'd favor Ilia in the fight but I see a scenario where Max outpoints Ilia, especially in the later rounds. From a fighting fan's perspective, Max vs Ilia is the fight ot make.

 

[ExitLUPin]

Max is my favorite fighter on the roster but i'm not sure he beats Ilia. It's the fight to make and the Gaethje fight is a waste since Max doesn't belong in that division. I know it will be fun and Max has a decent chance at winning but look at what's happened to Volk. I'm not saying it will happen to Max but it could. Ilia could crack Max's chin. It's possible. I'd favor Ilia in the fight but I see a scenario where Max outpoints Ilia, especially in the later rounds. From a fighting fan's perspective, Max vs Ilia is the fight ot make.

If I had a dollar for every time people said _______ will be the one to crack Maxs chin Id have several dollars

 

[YoungConm]

I need to see his cardio tested by a top notch pressure fighter IE either Max or Evloev, and I need to see him fight a lengthy technical striker since he's pretty reliant on getting on the inside to effectively strike and has had his shit rocked by lanky guys twice now by head kicks, so maybe a Yair type guy. From there? Well 145lbs globally is arguably the deepest division but in the UFC its always been terrible. Why the UFC wasn't willing to shell out money to sign AJ McKee or Salahdine Parnasse is just sad, plus they let Bellator sign elite prospects like Timur Khizriev and Khasan Magomedsharipov...while they sign fucking 7-2 contender series chaff.

Anyways, I'd like to see Topuria vs Evloev and or Max, then we will get a real good idea. The win vs Volk was amazing but otherwise his competition hasn't been great, decent sure, but Volk was 35 and went from 145 to 155, back to 145, had surgery, back up to 155 where he was violently knocked out on short notice and claimed he was heavily drinking and then...he went back down to 145lbs to face Ilia. Volks a smart guy but that's some of the worst career decisions fucking ever. It's fine to question how much this was Ilia being amazing and Volk declining. That said, Ilia is super young, undefeated and an insanely gifted athlete, he has the makings to go on a long run potentially. I still gotta Lotta questions though.

Lol, what are you on about? Aj Mckee? The dude has no process and is a mess on the feet.

Timur Khizirev couldn't finish a sandwich. Same with Evloev but least he's far more proven.

And Khasan is so awfully unproven and the competition he has beaten is not noteworthy at all. I don't even know why you bother to mention him.

 

[Banana Tree's Nemesis]

I mean the top of the FW division is pretty static and the guys Topuria beat aren't bad at all, but there's still a lot of matchups left for him. He only fought 3 top 10 guys including now Volk.

I'm no computer so I won't come up with random 37.55% chance of winning arguments, but I could think of at least 4 fighters of the other 7 that I would have roughly even or favored in a matchup with him.

Holloway, Yair, Allen, Chikadze.
Holloway may be able to do to him what he did to Kattar. Topuria is many things, but he is not a volume striker.
Yair has got that headkick and a pretty good ability to stay in kicking range.
Allen has got a sneaky headkick as well and very good wrestling.
Chikadze has got the experience of fighting world class kickboxing fights with a kick heavy game. Not ideal for someone like Topuria.

Besides those 4 I think Ortega could actually give him some trouble. His boxing has improved leaps and bounds. Question is, is he still active enough for that match to happen in the next decade.
Evloev I would actually favor Topuria tbh, because I think he's tight enough in the boxing to get the better of exchanges and if Movsar would wrestle him, he probably would be smart enough to gameplan for some leg entanglements and I could see him getting a sub rather cleanly.

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

If Ilia continues to improve he could be champion for a long time but if he does not continue to evolve he will not be champion for long. Ilia is exceptionally skilled everywhere and quite athletic but his greatest quality is how he always fights to the absolute best of his abilities; you always see the best version of Ilia Topuria when its time to fight.

As others have mentioned Ilia has trouble against long strikers, especially when they are tall, because he does not have the footwork necessary to consistently get inside and land his power hooks. Ilia is also significantly less dangerous, like most fighters, when placed on his backfoot. An opponent who does not cede the center and insists on pressing forward would likely cause him real issues.

Surprisingly there are not a ton of fighters at FW, at least ones with momentum, who possess ^ these attributes. Diego Lopes would be at a big technical deficit against Ilia but I could see him having success due to his aggression and danger.

 

[burningspear]

remember when paddy thought he was the A side <45>

 

[ipowerslapmywife]

Toporia is already the GOAT

 

[chinarice]

I don't see anyone that is currently in the FW division that I would favor over him. Gonna take an up and comer that isn't on the radar at the moment, to dethrone him.

He has all the tools to be a long reigning champ

 

[DoubleTrouble]

Ilia is very hittable so anyone with a decent chin and good striking should give him fits.

 

[TriangleMonkey]

Max and Yair are his toughest tests at FW with Max being the guy obviously

 

[Harlekin]

Ilia is very hittable so anyone with a decent chin and good striking should give him fits.

He has one of the or the highest striking defense in his division, wtf you talking about.
His defense is tight and he has great head movement with good footwork.
Have you seen him against Emmet???
Topuria was hunting down Volk, who is still damn good, therefore he took some jabs.

 

[Takes_Two_To_Tango]

10 years!