Just how good... is Ilia Topuria?

[DrRodentia]

Yeah. Planning for Arman to manage to stay injury free during training, in the fight as well, win, and then turn around in a short amount of time is a whole lot to be expecting.

Which is why we could have just skipped the Hooker fight and booked the Ilia one with a strong backup plan in case history repeated itself. Fuck, Hooker could have been the back up himself.

 

[ElLunico]

If he decisioned all those guys in a row, it would be a great run. The fact that he KO'd them all is legendary.

Exactly. Thats what makes it insane.

 

[rjmbrd]

JG may be ridiculous, but it very well may be what happens. Deserved or not.

If Dana wasn't so grudge driven and still mad at Arman, that fight could have probably already happened. It's what makes the most sense.

Hooker -vs- Arman happens in a few weeks. If Arman goes out and crushes Dan, he's going next.

JG is likely a backup plan, hard to say if Topuria would push back on it. Wouldn't be surprised if he did should it be offered. He's #5 and on a 1 fight win streak against an opponent barely ranked.

 

[Southpoor97]

People were discrediting the Charles win for:

1) Charles losing to Arman, despite it being a fairly even 29-28 type of SD either way. Charles almost got the submission round 1 too.

2) Charles not being able to stop Chandler in the rematch and having bad spots in the 5th round despite repeated fouls by Chandler, and Charles having outclassed him wide the first 4.

They were saying Charles was shot with how easily Ilia KO'd him. Charles even failed to impose his grappling in the fight, got reversed and side-mounted almost immediately. Now months later we see Charles outclass Gamrot everywhere and get the submission.

Charles since joining Chute Boxe Lima and moving up to LW is 14-3 now and he's only been decisively beaten by Islam and Ilia, most likely the 2 best fighters in the sport, P4P.

This win didn't make Ilia seem any better.

 

[Aurelian]

Which is why we could have just skipped the Hooker fight and booked the Ilia one with a strong backup plan in case history repeated itself. Fuck, Hooker could have been the back up himself.

This is all true. But for UFC top brass, pouring millions of dollars into promotion and planning everything for the Islam fight just to have it fall apart last second must be infuriating. I still think there's more to that story that hasn't been released to the public.

 

[ElLunico]

That's probably the best 3 fight win streak this sport has ever seen. The only fight you can knit pick is the Volk one due to the relatively quick turnaround from the Islam fight.

Agreed, easily the best 3 fight win streak in UFC history because of the way he put those guys away without taking much damage.

 

[Dorkman]

He's in all time great territory. Ilia is the total package. Elite boxing with severe stopping power. High level grappling and defense. And physically he's extremely gifted and posses a lot of explosive athleticism which he he's refined along side his technique for explosively fast but tight combinations. We just gotta hope he dosen't run into some kind of conor like fall where he gets too high on himself.

 

[fortheo]

To be fair, who do you match him with?

Arman is the clear #1 contender and the UFC simply refused to book him for the title. Topuria already murdered Max and Charles. Islam left the division.

I wouldn't mind a 'why not' fight with #7 Paddy but the cold hard truth is there is no clear contender outside of Arman who the UFC blocked. So now we get the winner of Arman x Hooker getting a spot. Presumably JG x Paddy, if they let Max fight Charles.

Whoever gets the next big win will get a title shot. If I'm Topuria and Islam is out and I killed Max and Charles, I would wait for something better than JG, which would be frankly ridiculous.

It's been low activity since his UFC debut. Finding who to match him up with now doesn't fix that.

He's amazing, but not active enough for my liking

 

[DrRodentia]

Hooker -vs- Arman happens in a few weeks. If Arman goes out and crushes Dan, he's going next.

JG is likely a backup plan, hard to say if Topuria would push back on it. Wouldn't be surprised if he did should it be offered. He's #5 and on a 1 fight win streak against an opponent barely ranked.

I don't think a guy with one top win in the division should really be pushing back against anything, championship/star status or not. I don't think it would be a waste of his time to get more names under his belt and building his resume against anyone in the top ten. Unless he loses in one of those attempts, but that's the fight game. Poatan has proven you can lose and still be a star if you come back strong.

 

[rjmbrd]

I don't think a guy with one top win in the division should really be pushing back against anything, championship/star status or not. I don't think it would be a waste of his time to get more names under his belt and building his resume against anyone in the top ten. Unless he loses in one of those attempts, but that's the fight game. Poatan has proven you can lose and still be a star if you come back strong.

In a world where you describe someone that killed 3 all-time divisional fighters, literal lock hall of fame world champions, in a row "one top win in the division," sure. We both know that isn't a reasonable way to describe Topuria.

JG doesn't even deserve his #5 booking, he's cartoonishly over ranked for years. He's been destroyed in both of his title fights and is one fight removed from being completely out class by Max then brained to sleep. He's not even in the discussion in any sane reasoning of a title shot.

If I'm Topuria, I too would ask for a better fight. This is the UFC's fault for refusing to rebook Arman who is the #1 contender.

 

[Ladron4sherdog]

Very

That was sweet

 

[Ladron4sherdog]

Hooker -vs- Arman happens in a few weeks. If Arman goes out and crushes Dan, he's going next.

JG is likely a backup plan, hard to say if Topuria would push back on it. Wouldn't be surprised if he did should it be offered. He's #5 and on a 1 fight win streak against an opponent barely ranked.

Yeah he'd have to be but I still feel the UFC would rather not book that fight.

On topic, Top knocking Charles stiff without sweating indicates he's atleast pretty good haha.

 

[rjmbrd]

It's been low activity since his UFC debut. Finding who to match him up with now doesn't fix that.

He's amazing, but not active enough for my liking

Also want to add, the UFC jerked him around last year.

He specifically announced, without any ambiguity "I'm moving up to lightweight."

The UFC took as long as they did to decide Islam needed to go fight for the welterweight title and they would book Illia - at a suitable event for the UFC schedule - to face Charles for the vacant belt.

He fought twice in 2024. He would have two fights in 2025 if they didn't wait until June to book him, then refuse to let him fight the #1 contender.

IMO he'll be happy to fight twice a year if they line things up.

 

[DrRodentia]

In a world where you describe someone that killed 3 all-time divisional fighters, literal lock hall of fame world champions, in a row "one top win in the division," sure. We both know that isn't a reasonable way to describe Topuria.

JG doesn't even deserve his #5 booking, he's cartoonishly over ranked for years. He's been destroyed in both of his title fights and is one fight removed from being completely out class by Max then brained to sleep. He's not even in the discussion in any sane reasoning of a title shot.

If I'm Topuria, I too would ask for a better fight. This is the UFC's fault for refusing to rebook Arman who is the #1 contender.

I don't disagree with any of that. I also think keeping busy is important, even if it isn't against the most worthy opponent.

Large chunks of time off in your prime can be a detriment, too. It's just the more risk averse approach. Managing a fight career is pretty complicated, balancing worthy risk and staying busy while also risking losing to "lesser" opposition.

Ilia could wait for Arman and not end up fighting him til mid next year, and lose. Would the wait have been worth it? He could have potentially picked up a win in that time which would also add to his legacy. Could potentially lose a keep busy fight. It's all risky.

I'm just thinking out loud at this point.

 

[nostradumbass]

He's really good at beating old guys with cracked chins who trade punches with him.

Charles didn't have much striking defense tonight either and was outstruck to the head 16-4, and was fortunate that Gamrot doesn't have any punching power. Charles is still a dangerous fight for guys who will grapple with him, but his striking days are probably numbered.

 

[BowserJr]

Islam vs Top at LW

After 2 LW defenses or if Islam loses to JDM

 

[RockyLockridge]

Brutal KOs on the way up in FW and dominant decisions when he did go to them.

Went up to LW on short notice for no reason at all. Got head kicked but then came back to deliver the best punch KO that division has ever seen.

Went back to FW and KOd Volk and Max back to back.

Sent Islam scurrying from the division.

Took Charles out in half a round.

Topuria is the GOAT.

crazy how he's that good and still underrated

 

[RockyLockridge]

Good enough for his fans to not complain about his one fight every 10s month schedule

only thing i cant stand but to be fair at this point he did fight in june and they say he will fight in january which is reasonable. yet to be seen if thats the truth

 

[wrb]

In a world where you describe someone that killed 3 all-time divisional fighters, literal lock hall of fame world champions, in a row "one top win in the division," sure. We both know that isn't a reasonable way to describe Topuria.

JG doesn't even deserve his #5 booking, he's cartoonishly over ranked for years. He's been destroyed in both of his title fights and is one fight removed from being completely out class by Max then brained to sleep. He's not even in the discussion in any sane reasoning of a title shot.

If I'm Topuria, I too would ask for a better fight. This is the UFC's fault for refusing to rebook Arman who is the #1 contender.

I thought Ilia refused/refuses to fight Arman, is that true? IMO, the guy needs to fight someone who is not named Justin only because he was gifted an immediate TS in a division that is stacked. Once he does this, I give him all the credit he deserves and not even care if he takes longer between fights. The UFC is giving him too many favors and its not fair to the others who have been doing the UFC favors for years now. He needs to fight a young guy, all the other champs say they will fight anyone thrown at them including Aldo who had 7 defenses and Maerab/Volk/Pantoja/Alex/DDP/Islam fighting anyone requested. Its also bullshit if they give him Islam without defending before if Islam falls to JDM.

 

[DrRodentia]

I thought Ilia refused/refuses to fight Arman, is that true? IMO, the guy needs to fight someone who is not named Justin only because he was gifted an immediate TS in a division that is stacked. Once he does this, I give him all the credit he deserves and not even care if he takes longer between fights. The UFC is giving him too many favors and its not fair to the others who have been doing the UFC favors for years now. He needs to fight a young guy, all the other champs say they will fight anyone thrown at them including Aldo who had 7 defenses and Maerab/Volk/Pantoja/Alex/DDP/Islam fighting anyone requested. Its also bullshit if they give him Islam without defending before if Islam falls to JDM.

He should be fighting everyone offered. Especially if he truly is, and truly feels he is leagues beyond everyone.

He did pay his dues. He won 6 fights before getting a shot, against varying skillsets, sizes, and skill levels. And then he knocked out three legends in a row. But now he seems to have has a McGregor-like superstar-beyond-the-sport mindset that isn't really real where he can just call all the shots. He is not that. Even if he resume is already superior. He just needs to fight all comers and keep winning.