Just how strong is Ilia Topuria? We do have receipts of him ending Alexander Volkanovski’s 4-year reign of defending his featherweight belts five times. He is undefeated as well with 16-0-0 in his resume, so undoubtedly if he wants to test new waters, ‘El Matador’ is clearly qualified to do that.
The featherweight star has even destroyed Max Holloway at UFC 308 and gave the latter his first ever Knockout loss. If that does not convince you of how strong Topuria is, we don’t know what will. So after hearing Topuria’s decision to vacate the featherweight belt and challenge himself in a new weight class, Michael Chandler was all praises for him.
While speaking to SHAK MMA ‘Iron’ said, “He is not the featherweight champ because the dude is so confident in himself that he vacated the belt to come up to 155. I mean that’s a pretty b*llsy move right. Conventional wisdom says hang on to the belt, go up, try your hand at 155, and then come back down. That in and of itself is spectacular.”
Premiere of the documentary Topuria Matador in Madrid Fighter Ilia Topuria poses at the photocall of the premiere of the documentary Topuria Matador, at the Callao Cinemas, September 18, 2024, in Madrid Spain Topuria Matador is the story of Ilias personal overcoming, from his native Georgia at war and his arrival in Spain, to catapult as the UFC world champion, wrapped by his wife, family, friends and training partners 18 SEPTEMBER 2024 TOPURIA PREMIERE PREMIERE DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE Madrid Madrid Madrid Spain PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxESP Copyright: xRicardoxRubiox 6220918
However, not everyone is happy about this permanent move to lightweight just months after defending the featherweight belt for the first time. Minutes after knocking out Max Holloway at UFC 308, Topuria appeared on board with giving Volkanovski a rematch for the title.
However, the Georgian Spaniard changed his mind and announced his full-time shift to lightweight, leaving Volkanovski to face Diego Lopes at UFC 314. Now one of Topuria’s rivals thinks that all of this is a lie and he is lying about his supposed bumpy weight cuts for 145 lbs.
Paddy Pimblett blamed Topuria for running away from the Volkanovski rematch
Pimblett’s frustration was palpable in an interview, as he questioned if Ilia Topuria was deserving of a shot at the lightweight title. He said, “I was thinking, ‘Wow, you’re stupid.’ Why have you moved up to this division? Like, he’s tiny. He’s like 5’5″, 5’6. I don’t understand why, like, he dares to call me fat when he’s saying he can’t make 145 anymore when he’s a midget. Like, it just doesn’t make sense.”
‘The ‘Baddy’ was not done and continued to lash out, saying that ‘El Matador’ was avoiding a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski. “I think he ran from 145, to be honest,” Pimblett added. According to Pimblett, the move was to avoid formidable opponents rather than face them. He also refuted the idea of Topuria getting an immediate shot at the lightweight belt and fighting someone among the top three before getting to Islam Makhachev.
On the flip side, Topuria denied these claims and referred to him as “fat” while ‘The Baddy’ was away from camp. So their verbal altercation does give a hint of a matchup sometime in the future. Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria have long had a beef with each other that dates back to their notorious London hotel incident in 2022. The 22-3-0 fighter threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at ‘El Matador’ after the Georgian-Spaniard got up in his face.
They are yet to meet inside the cage but it might be a possibility in the future since they’re now in the same division. What do you think? Will they ever meet? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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