Ilia Topuria now sits atop the mixed martial arts world, and his reign appears poised to last. In the main event of UFC 317 in Las Vegas on Saturday, Topuria secured the vacant lightweight championship with a single, powerful punch that knocked out Charles Oliveira.
Leading up to the fight, Topuria confidently predicted he would add Oliveira to his list of knockout victories, a promise he emphatically fulfilled. With recent knockout triumphs over Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, and Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria has built a compelling argument for having the greatest three-fight stretch in MMA history.
Known as “El Matador”, his professional record remains perfect at 17-0, including a flawless 9-0 in the UFC. After vacating the UFC featherweight title to pursue lightweight glory, Topuria now joins an elite group of multi-division UFC champions alongside legends such as Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Amanda Nunes, Randy Couture, and Conor McGregor.
His dominant performance has led some fellow fighters to suggest he is now the new face of the UFC, even drawing comparisons that he might be considered “bigger than Conor McGregor”.
Marcus Blakely