Media Ilia Topuria's coach confirms he is done at 145lbs, wants Charles Oliveira in May

[fedorthegoat777]

What a duck.

Still, we can't really blame these guys. It's a business. They will generally look for the higher profile easier fights they can get.

Everyone knows Charles' chin is not his best asset, to say the least, and he won't try to wrestle for the most part (and if he does, he doesn't have much for guys with great TDD defense).

Moving up and fighting for the championship is not ducking.

Moving up, holding the strap, and not fighting the top guy can be considered ducking.

 

[Thesnake101]

Max was clearly weight drained against Ilia....at 155 I think he'd beat him.

DC would beat Jones at HW too.

Hate the move since I did want to see him vs Evloev, but a fight with Charles and then Islam/Arman winner would be great if all goes accordingly. FW will be wide open after this too.

 

[MisfitsBR]

call him a "duck" is crazy lol people a losing the sense of the word

beating Charles and the lightweight champ is more difficult than beating Lopez, Evloev or Volk again right now, and brings far more greatness

 

[PurpleDrank]

he got one title defense and he is done in featherweight wtf
There is more glory to beat Evloev than Oliveira who is not even champ not even number one contender in lightweight

This is not true at all. Charles is still in his prime and is one of the best ever. Evloev is not a bigger legacy fight,

 

[RichardHarrow]

He needs to test himself against a seasoned grappler in the FW before he does that against anyone who will have a strength advantage against him in the LW. Best Evloev first. Imo he could take everyone except Makachev/Tsarukyan who would neutralize his grappling. Oliveira would definitely give him a run for his money as well.

 

[13Seconds]

Ilia would be smart to atleast test himself vs Evloev first in preparation for Islam. It's another title defense in the books and a wrestling heavy camp.

 

[DoubleTrouble]

"Weight drained" Lol Max had beaten every other featherweight he fought in the 10 years prior aside from Volkanovski until he ran into Topuria. He had 6+ months to adjust back down to FW after UFC 300, Max didn't make any complaints or excuses and neither should his fans.

i'm not a Max fan but he clearly looked a shadow of the guy who was going 5 hard rounds against Gaethje at 155.

Anyone with functioning eyesight can see that.

Let's not act like this was a prime FW Max either. He went life and death with Arnold Allen a few fights ago.

 

[RockyLockridge]

All 3 came close to getting Charles out of there. I wouldn't totally rule it out. People were saying Ilia wasn't gonna get Max out of there either.

If you can Knock out Max or volk you can definitely ko charles.

 

[Cobra 03]

I have to admit, there are not many fighters in the current UFC that I get excited about, but Tapuria is one of them. He has the confidence of a young McGregor, and he has backed it up very well. Him moving up to LW is exciting, the way Alex Pereira moving to LHW was. I hope he does well, and I am pretty sure he will not self destruct like McG did.

 

[Cobra 03]

What a duck.

Still, we can't really blame these guys. It's a business. They will generally look for the higher profile easier fights they can get.

Everyone knows Charles' chin is not his best asset, to say the least, and he won't try to wrestle for the most part (and if he does, he doesn't have much for guys with great TDD defense).

Geez, it seems like some Sherdoggers think about 50% of the UFC roster are "ducks"! Hilarious to call a fighter like Topuria a duck. Give me a break.

 

[flektarn]

kind of whack tbh.

 

[fortheo]

I still don't believe that he'll vacate.

 

[Daniel Henry]

This dude is trying hard to following the McGregor path down to a T ,tattoos, flashy suits, mansion... I'm not even English but what a wanker.

 

[wwkirk]

YouTube chapters below

0:00 Intro
0:31 Are the rumours about Ilia being done with 145 true?
1:23 When this was decided
2:46 Weight cut being rough on Ilia
3:39 Will Ilia vacate the belt?
4:22 No plans on fighting Alex Volkanovski at 145
5:00 How the fight with Charles looks
5:44 How Ilia wins
6:20 Dustin Poirier instead?
7:20 Ilia's boxing vs Dustin's boxing
8:41 Thoughts on Islam Makhachev's comments
9:52 Arman or Islam?
10:16 Still wanting the sub win over Islam
11:02 May return?
13:36 What did the UFC say about all this?
14:16 Does Lopes fight Volko for the interim belt
15:06 THANK YOU MANSCAPED, SAILY, NORDVPN
18:30 WAR MMA FC UPDATES

Superb bookmarking Shermano!

 

[GrantB13]

Short live the king I guess.

 

[Question]

YouTube chapters below

0:00 Intro
0:31 Are the rumours about Ilia being done with 145 true?
1:23 When this was decided
2:46 Weight cut being rough on Ilia
3:39 Will Ilia vacate the belt?
4:22 No plans on fighting Alex Volkanovski at 145
5:00 How the fight with Charles looks
5:44 How Ilia wins
6:20 Dustin Poirier instead?
7:20 Ilia's boxing vs Dustin's boxing
8:41 Thoughts on Islam Makhachev's comments
9:52 Arman or Islam?
10:16 Still wanting the sub win over Islam
11:02 May return?
13:36 What did the UFC say about all this?
14:16 Does Lopes fight Volko for the interim belt
15:06 THANK YOU MANSCAPED, SAILY, NORDVPN
18:30 WAR MMA FC UPDATES

That's pretty upsetting to be honest
I wasn't hyped for the Volk rematch, but I really wanted him to build a legacy at FW against the new guard in Evloev and Lopes

 

[fortheo]

Ilia would be smart to atleast test himself vs Evloev first in preparation for Islam. It's another title defense in the books and a wrestling heavy camp.

Might be better off to both not risk it and also not give Islam more tape study on what his grappling looks like these days.

 

[VinceArch]

I hope he does fight Lopes and Evloev first.

 

[IronGolem007]

YouTube chapters below

0:00 Intro
0:31 Are the rumours about Ilia being done with 145 true?
1:23 When this was decided
2:46 Weight cut being rough on Ilia
3:39 Will Ilia vacate the belt?
4:22 No plans on fighting Alex Volkanovski at 145
5:00 How the fight with Charles looks
5:44 How Ilia wins
6:20 Dustin Poirier instead?
7:20 Ilia's boxing vs Dustin's boxing
8:41 Thoughts on Islam Makhachev's comments
9:52 Arman or Islam?
10:16 Still wanting the sub win over Islam
11:02 May return?
13:36 What did the UFC say about all this?
14:16 Does Lopes fight Volko for the interim belt
15:06 THANK YOU MANSCAPED, SAILY, NORDVPN
18:30 WAR MMA FC UPDATES

It's a shame, because Ilia has a real chance to be the best ever at FW.

He will never be the best at anything @ LW.

 

[sdpdude9]

I mean, if that’s what he wants to do he’s doing it the right way. Vacating the belt and fighting a contender first. But I’d really rather see him stay, lots of work left there and I really would like to get some longstanding champions which I think he has a good shot at.