That's you imposing your perspective and not objectively true. If he's really planning on retiring young and wants to be double champ, him staying there would not be the next step.
Do you have the video?
He didn't vacate the belt and bail for shits and giggles. His last two performances were come-from-behind KO/TKOs over two of the best FWs to do it, but he's clearly not unbeatable. If he believed that he had it in the tank to go on and break record after record, he'd be doing it. He wouldn't just squander every negotiating tactic he had in a weight class he's entirely unproven at.
Funky way of seeing the world bro. You wrote it like Ilia was struggling during any of those rounds, when that was not the case. Felt more inevitable that he was going to take over the fight, even the rounds he was losing. Your assessment is wild and odd.
Eh. Only Father Time is inevitable in this sport. Nothing about his performances felt inevitable or likely. It seemed like routine fights where Alex and Max were doing their thing until they weren't.
So Topuria/Islam. Cool.
