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Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Thursday’s episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,524, the fellas welcome in a pair of UFC guests: [autotag]Grant Dawson[/autotag] and [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]. The guys also discuss the MMA Junkie Male Fighter of the Year selection for 2024: [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]. Tune in!
T.J. Dillashaw has a bold take on UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.
[autotag]T.J. Dillashaw[/autotag] has a bold take on UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].
Undefeated Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) is coming off back-to-back knockouts of featherweight greats Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 and Max Holloway at UFC 308 in title fights.
Dillashaw doesn’t just see Topuria as the best boxer in the UFC.
“I think Topuria’s the best fighter in the UFC right now,” Dillashaw said on the “JAXXON Podcast.”
Pound-for-pound over [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]?
“I mean, not off of resume, no,” Dillashaw answered. “But off his skills, yes.”
Jones (28-1 MMA, 22-1 UFC) is currently ranked No. 2 in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, whereas Topuria sits at No. 4. Dillashaw, a former two-time UFC bantamweight champion, was asked how he would have approached Topuria if the two were to ever have fought. He admits he’d have a hard time.
“It’d be a tough fight, dude,” Dillashaw said. “He’s a firecracker. I would have to use what I was hoping Holloway was going to do is use some more angles, right? Never stand in front of the guy. He’s fast, his boxing’s crisp. I would try to get outside his shoulders to try to switch my stances up.
“Fight him orthodox and southpaw. I would definitely be using my kicks a lot more. Yeah, he can block kicks, but it keeps him at a further distance, right, setting up my kicks. Yeah, I would definitely try to wrestle with him. I would say his striking’s more dangerous than his grappling, but his grappling’s great, as well.”
Topuria has recently teased a potential move up to lightweight, where he made one appearance at UFC Fight Night 204 in March 2022 – scoring a thunderous knockout of Jai Herbert.
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In a tight quality-vs-quantity debate, UFC champ Ilia Topuria emerges as our Male Fighter of the Year thanks to two unprecedented knockouts.
As 2024 comes to a close, there’s a bit of uncertainty surrounding [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]’s future. What’s completely certain, however, is that the reigning UFC featherweight champion had a one-of-a-kind year inside the octagon.
Who, in the history of the UFC, can claim to have knocked out two of their division’s three greatest fighters while they were still in their primes, in back-to-back fights, in one calendar year? Topuria can.
For that reason, Topuria is MMA Junkie’s 2024 Male Fighter of the Year.
The year began with Topuria booked to challenge then-featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski in February. Topuria, who at the time was a perfect 14-0, earned the title shot after winning his first six UFC fights and on the strength of a dominant unanimous decision against Josh Emmett in his first UFC main event. The title fight was a massive opportunity as Volkanovski had held gold since December 2019 and made five consecutive title defenses.
Volkanovski certainly had the experience advantage, but that didn’t stop Topuria from talking a big game. Shades of Conor McGregor before he fought Jose Aldo, Topuria even stole the belt from Volkanovski during the UFC 298 pre-fight press conference.
“I’m going to put his lights out,” Topuria said heading into UFC 298. “… I consider myself a far more complete and effective finisher than Volkanovski. The experience is on his side, but the young blood is on my side. This is my moment. God’s timing is perfect, and He’s prepared me for this moment. There won’t be any failure.”
Topuria was right. And in the second round, his powerful right hand hit the mark and put Volkanovski to sleep for the knockout to make him Spain’s first UFC champion.
Topuria felt so emboldened after his win that he immediately turned his attention to McGregor. While that callout was a reach, big things still lied ahead for the new champ.
After a whirlwind eight months that included doing the honorary kickoff before a Real Madrid FC game, meeting with Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and soccer star Leionel Messi, Topuria would enter his next in the unfamiliar role as not just defending UFC champion but a bonafide star.
Former champion Max Holloway was the challenge, who would head into UFC 308 on a three-fight winning streak and as the promotions BMF champ following one of the most iconic knockouts of all time in a lightweight bout with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
For Topuria, simply defending his belt wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to claim another first: the first man to knock out Holloway in his illustrious career. Which is why Topuria dared Holloway to bring the same energy he had in the final 10 seconds of the Gaethje by pointed to the center of the canvas at the start of theirs.
“If he does it, even better for me. Maybe I’m going to point to the ground,” Topuria told MMA Junkie before UFC 308. “Maybe I will do all that because I’m going to feel so comfortable in that fight because I’m telling you, every time I see him fight, I’m like, ‘Everyone is going to be surprised when I knock him out.’ Because I see him as such an easy matchup for me. If he thinks that I’m not right, prove me wrong. We’re going to be in the same octagon Oct. 26. Prove me wrong.”
It was Topuria who proved himself right at UFC 308, and in the third round he found the finish by knocking Holloway with punches.
Afterward, Topuria only wished there as another belt on the line.
“I never understand why they didn’t put the BMF title on the line,” Topuria told reporters at the UFC 308 post-fight press conference. “It has to be on the line since the first day. But hey, don’t want to make it official? I’m going to make it official by myself. Now I’m the new ‘Baddest Motherf*ker’ world champion.”
With knockouts of two of the consensus three greatest featherweights of all time (except for Jose Aldo) on his resume, it might be impossible for Topuria to top 2024. While Topuria has 145-pound challengers such as Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev in front of him, they’re nowhere near the stature of Volkanovski and Holloway. Perhaps that explains why Topuria recently expressed a desire to move to lightweight.
Whatever is in store for him in 2025, we’ll never forget that he had perhaps the greatest pair of back-to-back wins by a fighter in 2024, which made him our choice for Fighter of the Year.
In any other year, [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] would’ve locked up Male Fighter of the Year well before the year was over.
In a span of six months from April to October, Pereira defended the UFC light heavyweight championship with knockouts of Jamhal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree. And he did this under less-than-ideal circumstances as he repeatedly saved the promotion by accepting these title fights on short notice.
If not for the unprecedented quality of Topuria’s two victories, Pereira’s quantity would’ve made him the clear choice for Male Fighter of the Year.
Javier Mendez is not interested in UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev fighting Ilia Topuria – for now.
[autotag]Javier Mendez[/autotag] is not interested in UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] fighting [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] – for now.
Featherweight champion Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) teased a move up to 155 pounds and expressed interest in a potential fight with [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC).
Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) dismissed Topuria as an opponent, but Mendez thinks if Topuria beats former champion Oliveira, it would legitimize him as a lightweight title challenger.
“Charles is not an easy fight for anybody, and I slightly favor Ilia because of his power and his boxing precision,” Mendez told Submission Radio. “Charles is great. He’s good with everything. He’s coming with the knees, he’s coming with this. So you can never count Charles out. He was a world champion for a reason. He’s a great competitor still, and him and Arman’s fight, he came really close a lot of times to submitting Arman, too. So you can never count him out. That guy is still is a world beater, and he could definitely be a title contender again real soon.
“So let’s say he does fight Ilia. Then all of a sudden, Charles beats him. Then all of a sudden we have a rematch with Charles, which would be warranted at that point. So let’s see what happens. But him coming up in weight and wanting to stay at lightweight, it’s a good step in the right direction vs. coming up to weight then staying back down at featherweight. That doesn’t really do very much for Islam. So if (Topuria) fights another lightweight at lightweight, that means OK, now people will look at him like he’s a lightweight. He’s a true legit lightweight.”
Topuria’s head coach revealed that the main motivation behind a lightweight move is the weight cut. However, Mendez says Makhachev might walk around even lighter than Topuria.
Makhachev’s next title defense comes in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan in the UFC 311 headliner on Jan. 18.
“He’s motivated,” Mendez said of Topuria. “He’s a champion, for sure. He’s proven it. He’s gone up in weight. I also was told his coach said he was 187 (pounds). Islam, I don’t think has ever been that heavy. Islam, when he starts training camp two months out, Islam is about 179, 178.
“The guy is a great fighter. He’s got the best boxing hands in the business, I feel – best technical. He can do a lot of damage if he goes up in weight, but I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m not interested in that fight whatsoever, at the present time. I’m interested in (Makhachev) defending against Arman, and then who knows – maybe the welterweight title is available at that particular time.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” on the fallout from UFC Tampa, plus some major developments and a big main event booked.
The time for overreacting is here!
Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie Radio host “Gorgeous” George Garcia debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:
Watch the full episode in the video above.
Khabib Nurmagomedov would like to see UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria earn his title shot at lightweight if he moves up.
[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] would like to see UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] earn his title shot at lightweight if he moves up to the division.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) teased a move up to 155 pounds and called for a fight with Charles Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC). If he can get past a former champion like that, then Nurmagomedov wouldn’t mind his protoge, current UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, giving him a shot.
“I think if he moves up and he beats somebody like Dustin Poirier or Charles Oliveira then he’s next in line. Why not? Because there is nobody,” Nurmagomedov said on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman.
However, Nurmagomedov is against Topuria getting an immediate title shot. He already witnessed Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) get criticized for making his first two title defenses against former featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski.
“Without fighting at 155? No, I don’t agree,” Nurmagomedov said of a Topuria title shot. “Because Islam already gave a chance. People talk bad about like, ‘Oh, he fought two times against Volkanovski,’ but the UFC pushed that fight, and the first fight was good.
“But why does Islam have to give three times chance for the 145-pound champion? Why? It’s not fair for 155 pounds, but if he (Topuria) moves up and beats somebody like Charles Oliveira, then of course. You know what I think? I think he can beat him.”
Makhachev’s next title defense comes in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan, which headlines UFC 311 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) on Jan. 18 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
Michael Bisping sees similarities in Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor’s paths in the UFC.
[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] sees similarities in [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s paths in the UFC.
UFC featherweight champion Topuria hinted at a move up to lightweight, and his coach cited weight cutting as the main reason. McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) is the first UFC fighter to hold championships in two weight classes simultaneously, but never defended either his featherweight or lightweight belts.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) notched his first title defense when he knocked out Max Holloway at UFC 308, but has now turned his attention to former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Judging by the way Topuria and McGregor’s careers have played out, Bisping sees a resemblance.
“As we know, Ilia Topuria has styled himself on Conor McGregor, and they’ve got a lot in common,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Undefeated in the UFC featherweight division, stock shot to stardom, knocked everybody out, apart from one person – of course that was Josh Emmett, and that was Max Holloway (for McGregor). Everyone else got slept.
“The confidence from Ilia Topuria has been through the roof just like Conor McGregor. There’s even similarities in their tattoos, the way they warm up and stuff like that. …Also, Conor never defended the featherweight strap and it seems like maybe he’s (Topuria) trying to do the same thing. Move up to lightweight, forget about featherweight because he’s, ‘Been there, done it, got the t-shirt.'”
Topuria put out a statement to clarify that he’s yet to make a final decision, however “El Matador” is not short of options. Awaiting him at 145 pounds is a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski, fellow undefeated Movsar Evloev, and red-hot Diego Lopes.
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Diego Lopes gives his opinion on UFC featherweight champ Ilia Topuria wanting to move up to lightweight.
[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] caused many reactions with his comments on wanting to leave the UFC featherweight division behind for a move up to lightweight.
UFC contender [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] was one of the many who were caught off guard by the 145-pound champion’s bold remarks. Lopes, who’s knocking on the door of a title shot at featherweight, doesn’t care if Topuria stays or leaves the division. However, he does find Topuria’s potential move premature.
“From my point of view, I think he has work to do in the division,” Lopes told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “We have several contenders that have their sight on him, and I’m one of those. I would like a fight against him, and if he stays in the division, that’s a fight that I’ll look for. But if he is really leaving, he needs to make that decision, and let’s see what happens with the division.”
Given Topuria’s success in winning and defending the UFC featherweight title, plus the number of rising contenders in the weight class, Lopes admits he was surprised by Topuria’s recent comments.
Still, Lopes is still not sold that the move is 100 percent happening next. But if it does come to fruition, he’d like for the UFC to match him uop against former champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag].
“I think those comments caught everyone by surprise since he had said he was going to defend his title against Volkanovski for his next fight,” Lopes explained.” But who knows, we don’t know what’s going to happen with the division, and we’re even asking the UFC what’s going to happen, and we haven’t gotten an answer, so maybe he’s losing his patience and that’s why he made that comments about wanting to move to 155 to see if something happens or UFC gives him an answer.
“If he truly is going to move up to 155, I’d like to fight against Volkanovski – whether it’s a title fight or not or an interim title. I’d want to fight him. If he’s going to be left without a fight, I’m here.”
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Renato Moicano believes UFC featherweight champ Ilia Topuria’s knockout power would translate at 155 pounds, but that’s about it.
[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] advises UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] against moving up to lightweight.
After back-to-back knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, Topuria recently hinted at a move up to 155 pounds. Topuria made his successful lightweight debut in March 2022 when he knocked out Jai Herbert but wound up dropping back down to featherweight to make his successful title run.
Moicano (20-5-1 MMA, 12-5 UFC), who’s won four fights in a row, sees Topuria’s power translating to lightweight. However, stylistically, he expects his size and grappling to give him problems.
“To be honest, I think he would knock out a lot of people,” Moicano said of Topuria on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “He is very good. I think he is very good, but in my defense, I think I would finish him because I’m not a striker, I’m a grappler. If I get his back, I can finish him 100 percent.
“But if you try to strike against him, he is a solid striker. The fight against Max Holloway was just incredible. The guy is good. But to be honest, too, I think he’s very small for the division. I don’t know. I think he should stay at 145. … Easy money, I’m going to show you 155.”
Moicano returns Jan. 18 when he takes on Beneil Dariush (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6-1 UFC) in a lightweight bout at UFC 311 from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 311.
UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria’s coach, Jorge Climent, confirms his desired move up to lightweight and explains why.
UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]’s coach confirms his plans to move up to lightweight and explains why.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) surprised many when he hinted at leaving featherweight by showing interest in Charles Oliveira. His head coach, Jorge Climent, clarified that the motivation behind the change is the tough weight cut.
“Yeah, the real thing, I think, is he hates to cut weight,” Climent told Submission Radio. “He does it a lot of times, and it’s very hard every time we do it. He doesn’t want to do this anymore, and that’s why he wants to go up to the next weight class, you know, because he thinks his normal weight is in that weight class.”
Topuria, who’s coming off back-to-back knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, competed once at lightweight when he knocked out Jai Herbert in March 2022. Climent says the cut down to 145 pounds has started to take a toll on Topuria’s body.
“In the beginning, Ilia fighting 61 kilos (bantamweight) and he’s young,” Climent said. “And your body is changing. When you’re 20, you have a body. When you’re 25, you have another. And when you are 30, you have another. Always your muscular production (grows) and your weight is difficult to cut. We decided because he wants to feel better. Sometimes I see Ilia in 85 kilos, and he needs to be 66. We do a very big weight cut.”
After Topuria knocked out Holloway, he agreed to run things back with Volkanovski. However, with his featherweight days likely behind him, Climent guesses his star student would just vacate his title.
“I suppose if he goes to another weight class, the belt is going to be vacant,” Climent said. “And I don’t know what is going to happen if he doesn’t want to defend it. He left it to the people in this way.
“I don’t think he’s going to defend the featherweight title. I think he wants to go to lightweight. I don’t think they give the opportunity to fight directly for for the belt, but he wants to fight with the ranked guys to come for the belt.”
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