Have topuria's opponents been one dimensional thus far?

[fortheo]

I was talking to my brother and he mentioned that topuria has only faced one dimensional fighters thus far in the ufc:

Zalal: point fighting kickboxer
Jackson: scrappy grappler
Hall: bjj guy
Herbert: kickboxer
Mitchel: grappler
Emmett: brawler

Who is the most well rounded guy topuria has faced in your opinion? What are you topuria fans most worried about going into this fight?

I'm very curious to see topuria go from facing guys like that to facing one of the most well rounded guys in the entire sport.

 

[Black9]

Topuria's resume is already talked about not being great.

The only reason it's a 50/50 fight is his "projection" of how great his abilities evolve every fight.

 

[Substance Abuse]

Topuria's resume is already talked about not being great.

The only reason it's a 50/50 fight is his "projection" of how great his abilities evolve every fight.

It's also perceived to be a 50/50 fight due to Volkanovski’s age at the weight class and the fact that he's coming off a brutal knockout, surgery and has disclosed a drinking problem.

And yes, Topuria's resume is not all that great and the fighters he's fought aren't all that well rounded, but all he can do is beat the guys they put in front of him and he's done so with flying colors. The UFC would have risked killing another contender if they had him fight Holloway, Evloev or Allen. The division needs contenders. They finally did something right.

 

[fortheo]

Topuria's resume is already talked about not being great.

The only reason it's a 50/50 fight is his "projection" of how great his abilities evolve every fight.

I wasn't talking much about the quality of the opposition so much as the well roundedness. I'm curious to see how he deals with somebody who can pose multiple threats instead of just predominately one threat. Maybe I need to dig further into his career to find an opponent like that

 

[Question]

I think you'd have to go with Emmett, which isn't saying a ton but the guy has some wrestling and some alright striking along with some big explosiveness to carry it all.
Definitely not too well rounded tho, overall it is true he's faced more one dimensional guys.

 

[fortheo]

I think you'd have to go with Emmett, which isn't saying a ton but the guy has some wrestling and some alright striking along with some big explosiveness to carry it all.
Definitely not too well rounded tho, overall it is true he's faced more one dimensional guys.

There's still a lot of unknowns with topuria it seems. I also wonder how he'll do on his back, or how he'll do if pressured and put on the back foot, or how he'll do in a high paced fight with a lot of scrambles in it. So many unknowns, but I guess we're about to get some answers.

I'm really looking forward to this one

 

[Black9]

It's also perceived to be a 50/50 fight due to Volkanovski’s age at the weight class and the fact that he's coming off a brutal knockout, surgery and has disclosed a drinking problem.

And yes, Topuria's resume is not all that great and the fighters he's fought aren't all that well rounded, but all he can do is beat the guys they put in front of him and he's done so with flying colors. The UFC would have risked killing another contender if they had him fight Holloway, Evloev or Allen. The division needs contenders. They finally did something right.

I agree with those points as well.

It's IMO the 2nd most intriguing fight of the year so far. Only Charles vs Arman slightly ahead.

 

[Liverkick-king56]

Mitchell dropped and battered Barboza. He's not a striking wizard but he's clearly well rounded as a martial artist and strong.

Emmett held his own against Kattar, Ige, Yair, Lamas and Burgos. His style is meat and potatoes but it's well rounded enough for Emmett to crack more pure strikers.

Zalal, Jackson, Hall and Herbert are also very unique tests in their own rights that not all fighters could solve with a one dimensional skill set but Topuria used different gameplans to beat each man and executed them beautifully.



Obviously compared to Volk none of these guys are as well rounded or skilled at mixing it up but in reality who is? Evloev is the closest thing to being well rounded but even he's more heavily leaned into as a wrestler... sorta like Mitchell.

 

[KOPPE]

He might not have the most impressive resume but he WORKED his way through the rankings.

 

[fortheo]

Mitchell dropped and battered Barboza. He's not a striking wizard but he's clearly well rounded as a martial artist and strong.

Emmett held his own against Kattar, Ige, Yair, Lamas and Burgos. His style is meat and potatoes but it's well rounded enough for Emmett to crack more pure strikers.

Zalal, Jackson, Hall and Herbert are also very unique tests in their own rights that not all fighters could solve with a one dimensional skill set but Topuria used different gameplans to beat each man and executed them beautifully.



Obviously compared to Volk none of these guys are as well rounded or skilled at mixing it up but in reality who is? Evloev is the closest thing to being well rounded but even he's more heavily leaned into as a wrestler... sorta like Mitchell.

Feels like a bit of a stretch to describe any of their approaches as well rounded, but you did about the best someone can in making a case for that lol. For what it's worth, I do think Mitchell, for all his flaws, is the only guy who came at topuria with a multi faceted approach. That fight was an interesting one while it lasted.

what's your read on ilia's overall game by the way?

 

[El Fernas]

Herbert did alright against him despite ending up KO'd, still, im leaning towards him winning by KO/TKO, eventually loses the belt, but Volk is losing the belt sooner or later.

 

[Liverkick-king56]

There's still a lot of unknowns with topuria it seems. I also wonder how he'll do on his back, or how he'll do if pressured and put on the back foot, or how he'll do in a high paced fight with a lot of scrambles in it. So many unknowns, but I guess we're about to get some answers.

I'm really looking forward to this one

One thing I notice is he backs up in straight lines.
Obviously Emmett is short with his combos so it wasn't an issue there but with Volk that could open up longer combinations and present potential angles that can get through Topuria's guard. His defensive wrestling looked fantastic against Mitchell so as long as he isn't aggressively running into takedowns or gassed I think he's shown the wares to stay off his back.

Feels like a bit of a stretch to descrive any of their approaches as well rounded, but you did about the best someone can in making a case for that lol. For what it's worth, I do think Mitchell, for all his flaws, is the only guy who came at topuria with a multi faceted approach. That fight was an interesting one while it lasted.

what's your read on ilia's overall game by the way?

I'm really high on Topuria.
The combination punching, his ability to cut off range, power, cardio, feinting ability and defence has really impressed me with his standup although his ego shows and can be concerning trading with Emmett is insane in good and bad ways his grappling has also looked great. I think he has all the answers to hit Volk which I don't think every FW can say but winning against Volk is still a tall task because out performing his long jab, leg kicks, fast combinations and angles will require some sharper leg kick defence and a calm mindset to not bull rush and instead feint his way in and as we've seen Volk doesn't let himself get goaded into a war.

I'm super excited for this fight.

 

[RockyLockridge]

It's also perceived to be a 50/50 fight due to Volkanovski’s age at the weight class and the fact that he's coming off a brutal knockout, surgery and has disclosed a drinking problem.

for me it's just his age other wise i'd pick volk with out a second thought.

 

[TheMMAnalyst]

I think it’s a GSP scenario all over again.

Towards the end GSP still had the best blend of tools, but he wasn’t as fast, durable or confident.

It was still good enough to beat the best even while declining, but his performances dipped noticeably and the blend of tools became less impactful.

So the question to me is do we think Volk is at that tipping point already? It’s similar to Hendricks vs GSP in a lot of regards, so I’d expect a close fight regardless of outcome.

 

[KarateYeah]

He definetly fucked some chucks to get there (not literally)

 

[Levi_]

His competition hasn't been that impressive or well rounded. We will see how good he really is.

I've got Volk winning. I'm not seeing the downhill age progression yet, so I'm not buying it. He would have done much better against Islam if he had time to train. He still shrugged off Islam's TDs.

 

[Kratos94]

I want Topuria to win, but think it is a little soon to be fighting Volk. Give him another top contender, to further improve. By the time the rematch comes, Topuria will probably have improved a lot, but now - too early.

 

[NoSmilez]

I think I will wait till the weigh ins to make a prediction. Volk looked soft for his last fight and his performance was bad.

 

[RonDante]

Yes, and no amount of “he beat who they put in front of him” can change that who they out in front of him isn’t elite

I hate that phrase aswell. If they put a guy that has no grappling and just wings hooks at me the whole time with no set up, no jabs no leg kicks and bad cardio, that’s not as impressive as if I beat volk

 

[Conor Strickland]

It's also perceived to be a 50/50 fight due to Volkanovski’s age at the weight class and the fact that he's coming off a brutal knockout, surgery and has disclosed a drinking problem.

And yes, Topuria's resume is not all that great and the fighters he's fought aren't all that well rounded, but all he can do is beat the guys they put in front of him and he's done so with flying colors. The UFC would have risked killing another contender if they had him fight Holloway, Evloev or Allen. The division needs contenders. They finally did something right.

I'm kinda glad he didn't fight Holloway lol because then he wouldn't be fighting Volk. Holloway is probably the worst match up for Topuria imo