Throwback Illia topuria killing people

[Rapa]

the guy scores a 50-42 against emmet which is just insane in a number 1 contenders fight, then KO's volk and Max back to back while being undefeated in the UFC and In MMA

and you need more?

Topuria has to beat zeus first

 

[Aurelian]

Look at DJ, GSPand JBJ’s title reigns, they defended against plenty of fighters much worse than Charles, who’s a LW legend. As long as Islam is defending his belt against credible LWs like Charles his resume will be hard to criticize in the future. I don’t know how anyone can complain if he fights Charles or Arman.

His legacy is fine. I think you might have been traumatized by some dumb trolls who won't like Islam no matter what he does. Ilia is the fight to make.

 

[moosaev]

His legacy is fine. I think you might have been traumatized by some dumb trolls who won't like Islam no matter what he does. Ilia is the fight to make.

Nah man, I disagree, I don’t think being in a situation where the majority of your title defenses are against guys a weight class lower is a good look. And it isn’t just fans, commentators like Luke Thomas and others have made videos pointing out that weakness in his resume. It will not age well. Fighters aspire to fight up in weight, not beat up smaller guys.

 

[Rapa]

I think it's more about leveling up hype and payday than it is about competition. Illia is a businessman after the biggest fights.

Ilia has ego big enough to not sell his legacy on money he loves being undefeated being best if he believes he is better than islam (yes he is)

 

[Aurelian]

Nah man, I disagree, I don’t think being in a situation where the majority of your title defenses are against guys a weight class lower is a good look. And it isn’t just fans, commentators like Luke Thomas and others have made videos pointing out that weakness in his resume. It will not age well. Fighters aspire to fight up in weight, not beat up smaller guys.

Ilia just turned 28 and he's already got KO wins over 2 of the greatest FW's of all time. His career trajectory would suggest it's going to surpass anything Charles has ever done. It's more likely to get better, not worse. Islam getting this win now could be huge in the future.

 

[Rapa]

Nah man, I disagree, I don’t think being in a situation where the majority of your title defenses are against guys a weight class lower is a good look. And it isn’t just fans, commentators like Luke Thomas and others have made videos pointing out that weakness in his resume. It will not age well. Fighters aspire to fight up in weight, not beat up smaller guys.

Its not like ilia is going back to FW even if he loses he stays in LW he is LW fighter now just like charles was FW and moved up in LW or dustin ilia is LW now period

 

[188912345]

His legacy is fine. I think you might have been traumatized by some dumb trolls who won't like Islam no matter what he does. Ilia is the fight to make.

I think it's just a convenient excuse from team Islam to get a lower-risk title defense (and the payday it ensues) in before facing Ilia.

Also, they've seen the special privileges Jon Jones got and want some of that.

No objective fan thinks another win over Charles or Gaethje adds more to his resume than if he would be the first one to beat Ilia.

 

[Aurelian]

I think it's just a convenient excuse from team Islam to get a lower-risk title defense (and the payday it ensues) in before facing Ilia.

Also, they've seen the special privileges Jon Jones got and want some of that.

No objective fan thinks another win over Charles or Gaethje adds more to his resume than if he would be the first one to beat Ilia.

Luckily for us, Islam himself has these huge balls and an unwavering belief in himself. He'll take this fight I'm pretty sure. But you're right, I don't think his fans really want this fight that bad.

 

[richardjohnson]

Its not like ilia is going back to FW even if he loses he stays in LW he is LW fighter now just like charles was FW and moved up in LW or dustin ilia is LW now period

I don’t know if that matters, a few months ago many were calling Moicano a FW even though he hasn’t fought at 145 in almost six years.

 

[TheRealWill]

I'm still not sold on Topuria. I'm getting Cody Garbrandt vibes from when Cody won the belt.

If I see him win 4-5 championship fights knocking people out, then maybe I'll believe he's more like Anderson Silva. But until proven otherwise, he's another flash in the pan.

So if he becomes one of the best fighters ever you'll acknowledge he's kinda decent? Lol


I don't think he's as good as some people are acting like though. Bryce Mitchell took him down a few times. He's been dropped by mid fighters. I think Islam would destroy him fairly easily by 1st round sub. Don't think he'll even get by Charles, Arman, or Paddy to be honest.

 

[moosaev]

I think it's just a convenient excuse from team Islam to get a lower-risk title defense (and the payday it ensues) in before facing Ilia.

Also, they've seen the special privileges Jon Jones got and want some of that.

No objective fan thinks another win over Charles or Gaethje adds more to his resume than if he would be the first one to beat Ilia.

It’s not a convenient excuse, it’s literally based on firm evidence. Islam defeated the #1 P4P fighter in the world TWICE and got zero credit for it. Now you’re trying to tell me that thinking he won’t get credit for beating the #3 P4P is unreasonable and just an excuse? Please.

 

[r-harper-1]

Pantoja vs Merab
Topuria vs Charles (vacant)
Islam vs Shavkat ( vacant )
Muhammad vs DDP
Ankalaev vs Aspinall

 

[fortheo]

Ilia has ego big enough to not sell his legacy on money he loves being undefeated being best if he believes he is better than islam (yes he is)

I believe he thinks he is better than Islam, but If Movsar was the LW champ with a few defenses, I think illia would suddenly be very willing to fight him. Illia is after the bigger fights first and foremost in my opinion, regardless of who the opponent is.

Islam is the bigger fight, that's why he wants him.

 

[r-harper-1]

It’s not a convenient excuse, it’s literally based on firm evidence. Islam defeated the #1 P4P fighter in the world TWICE and got zero credit for it. Now you’re trying to tell me that thinking he won’t get credit for beating the #3 P4P is unreasonable and just an excuse? Please.

The first time he struggled in the 5th against Volk …..2nd time he fought Volk off the couch

 

[188912345]

It’s not a convenient excuse, it’s literally based on firm evidence. Islam defeated the #1 P4P fighter in the world TWICE and got zero credit for it. Now you’re trying to tell me that thinking he won’t get credit for beating the #3 P4P is unreasonable and just an excuse? Please.

I don't care about any excuse a fighter gives for why he won't take a fight that's objectively riskier. Angling to fight someone who he has beaten before, or someone who already is 0-2 in title fights and who happen to be a very favorable stylistic matchup is just bad, no matter what excuse he can think of.

We're not talking about some random FW here. Undefeated, 28 years old, 16-0, strong grappling base combined with KO-power, just coming off KOing two all-time greats.

Why should Islam care about what random people on the internet say?

We have Khamzat, undefeated, just finished Rob in round 1, yet some people call it a fluke because Whittaker had a weak jaw.
He gets underrated before every fight and his wins get downplayed after he wins, what can he do about it, except keep winning every fight?

People will talk shit on the internet, I'm sure he never cared about it before.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

Honestly it's pretty rare we see someone go for this level of glory and fame. To take this type of risk. It's pretty admirable honestly. This motherfucker is going for it all.

i mean, that's basically because the UFC has blocked it from happening. BJ Penn wanted to fight Tim Sylvia when they both were top fighters. Aldo wanted to fight for the LW title for years and was blocked by UFC. and this happened almost 2 decades ago now.

that's why i don't really get the hype behind becoming double champ. Conor was the first ever literally because UFC had only allowed HIM to even try. it's a manufactured record.

 

[Aurelian]

i mean, that's basically because the UFC has blocked it from happening. BJ Penn wanted to fight Tim Sylvia when they both were top fighters. Aldo wanted to fight for the LW title for years and was blocked by UFC. and this happened almost 2 decades ago now.

that's why i don't really get the hype behind becoming double champ. Conor was the first ever literally because UFC had only allowed HIM to even try. it's a manufactured record.

It's not a double champ fight though. Ilia gave up his title to chase this fight. He gave up that title fight PPV money to chase glory. That's what I'm meaning to say.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

It’s not a convenient excuse, it’s literally based on firm evidence. Islam defeated the #1 P4P fighter in the world TWICE and got zero credit for it. Now you’re trying to tell me that thinking he won’t get credit for beating the #3 P4P is unreasonable and just an excuse? Please.

because Volk is a point fighter and he struggled in the 1st fight vs Volk. if he beats Topuria, he's a different beast all together. he's imminently more dangerous than Volk and that was proven when he destroyed Volk and became the first person to KO Max.

he will definitely get credit for beating a fully prepared, full camp Topuria. it'll even raise his stock if he completely destroys Topuria. not only is he a more dangerous fighter, he's undefeated.

i personally think Islam can completely dominate Topuria if he plays his game correctly. i think it's also good for Islam because many of his defenses have asterisks because of the circumstances that were obviously out of his control, but asterisks nonetheless. putting a stamp on Topuria who is as ready as he'll ever be is a big feather in the cap, especially since he'll take his 0 too.

you have to look at it from a casual's perspective, because that is who pushes the popular narrative. we know Volk is a great MMA fighter, but to casuals he looks like a little guy who jabs to win. Topuria on the other hand, even a moron can see he's brutalizing people, some that have never been brutalized like that before. for the casual Volk looks like a nobody and Topuria looks like an animal. you can see this happen with Conor, the casuals thought he was unbeatable, meanwhile most hardcores knew his gas tank and his grappling were sus.

 

[Pancake Sprawl]

It's not a double champ fight though. Ilia gave up his title to chase this fight. He gave up that title fight PPV money to chase glory. That's what I'm meaning to say.

yeah, that is commendable. some people would say it's stupid, but i can't fault the man in the ring taking risks.

 

[moosaev]

because Volk is a point fighter and he struggled in the 1st fight vs Volk. if he beats Topuria, he's a different beast all together. he's imminently more dangerous than Volk and that was proven when he destroyed Volk and became the first person to KO Max.

he will definitely get credit for beating a fully prepared, full camp Topuria. it'll even raise his stock if he completely destroys Topuria. not only is he a more dangerous fighter, he's undefeated.

i personally think Islam can completely dominate Topuria if he plays his game correctly. i think it's also good for Islam because many of his defenses have asterisks because of the circumstances that were obviously out of his control, but asterisks nonetheless. putting a stamp on Topuria who is as ready as he'll ever be is a big feather in the cap, especially since he'll take his 0 too.

you have to look at it from a casual's perspective, because that is who pushes the popular narrative. we know Volk is a great MMA fighter, but to casuals he looks like a little guy who jabs to win. Topuria on the other hand, even a moron can see he's brutalizing people, some that have never been brutalized like that before. for the casual Volk looks like a nobody and Topuria looks like an animal. you can see this happen with Conor, the casuals thought he was unbeatable, meanwhile most hardcores knew his gas tank and his grappling were sus.

I think you’re missing the point, Islam didn’t get credit for beating Volk because a sizable part of the fanbase simply didn’t want to give him credit. And that remains true to this day. It’s the same part of the fanbase who ran with the “Merab embarrassed Umar!” storyline even though it was a very close fight. Ultimately they will look for excuses to diminish what he does, and Ilia’s size will be that excuse. Mark my words.