Fight Coverage
Every Ilia Topuria UFC Finish
A Look Back At Ilia Topuria’s Six Finishes In The UFC Ahead Of His Fight With Charles Oliveira For The Vacant Lightweight Title At UFC 317 On June 28
Former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria entered the UFC with an impressive 8-0 record, but just one knockout to his name.
Granted, the other seven wins came by submission, but when he joined the promotion, he wasn’t exactly known for having heavy hands. That perception held through his UFC debut, when he controlled the now No. 12 ranked Youssef Zalal for over eight minutes en route to a unanimous decision victory.
That all changed the next time he stepped into the Octagon, when he broke down and folded Damon Jackson in under three minutes inside UFC APEX. From that moment on, his power became a key component of his rise up the division.
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Following his win over Zalal, Topuria finished six of his next seven opponents, five by knockout and one by submission. The lone challenger to make it to the judges’ scorecard was Josh Emmett, who was knocked down and absorbed 152 significant strikes in the process.
Ahead of Topuria’s next matchup, when he looks to claim the throne in a second division at UFC 317 against Charles Oliveira, take a look back at all six of Topuria’s electrifying UFC finishes:
KO’s Damon Jackson
After spending 15 minutes inside the APEX in his UFC debut, Topuria was more than ready for his second trip to the Octagon when he faced Damon Jackson in 2020. Within the first 40 seconds, Topuria landed a few massive body shots and a jab that stunned Jackson.
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Halfway through the round, he connected with an uppercut to the body that hurt Jackson against the cage. Then, Topuria let loose with an overhand right over Jackson’s own left hook to shut his lights out.
KO’s Ryan Hall
Now that Topuria showed his power was as good as it gets, decorated grappler Ryan Hall wanted nothing to do with the Spaniard on the feet at UFC 264. A minute in, Hall went for the first of many imanari rolls, none of which caused Topuria any real concern.
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With less than 30 seconds left in the round, Topuria had seen enough. Hall went for another roll and ended up on his back. Topuria pounced and landed vicious ground-and-pound strikes to knock Hall out cold. It was a massive win for Topuria, as this fight was on the same card headlined by Conor McGregor’s trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier.
KO’s Jai Herbert
At UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs Aspinall in London, Topuria faced his biggest piece of adversity when he took on hometown favorite Jai Herbert at lightweight. Just 40 seconds into the fight, Topuria was dropped with a perfectly timed head kick from Herbert. Topuria quickly grabbed a hold of Herbert’s legs and out-grappled him for the next few minutes to recover.
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In the second round, Topuria returned fire with his hardest shot of the fight, but it was one Herbert couldn’t recover from. Topuria backed him up against the cage and unloaded a three-punch combination that put Herbert to sleep before he even hit the mat.
Submits Bryce Mitchell
At UFC 282, Topuria’s ground game was tested again, this time by one of the division’s top grapplers, and his first Top 10 opponent, Bryce Mitchell. After a competitive first round, Topuria got things rolling early in the second when he sat Mitchell down with a right hook.
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With over half the round to work, Topuria swarmed Mitchell on the ground, which UFC commentator Joe Rogan initially said was not a great idea considering Topuria’s success on the feet. Mitchell managed to get back to his feet, but Topuria threw him back down and locked in an arm-triangle to earn his first UFC submission.
KO’s Alexander Volkanovski
Topuria’s dominant 25-minute showing against Josh Emmett proved he could go the championship rounds, and it earned him a shot at featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. It was Topuria’s first chance to capture UFC gold, and one he’d take full advantage of.
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The first round was very tactical, with Volkanovski slowly finding his rhythm while Topuria stayed patient, picking his shots carefully. In the second round, in typical Topuria fashion, he backed the champion up against the cage and landed another combination that slept the 145-pound king as soon as the final punch connected.
KO’s Max Holloway
In his first, and only, featherweight title defense, Topuria faced one of the division’s all-time greats, Max Holloway. Heading into the fight, fans wondered if Topuria could handle Holloway’s exceptional volume and durability, considering Holloway had never even been knocked down in his entire career.
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But that didn’t matter. In the third round, Topuria stunned Holloway with a straight right hand. Holloway tried to circle away, but Topuria stalked him down and landed a left hook to drop him. A few ground-and-pound strikes later and Topuria had done the unthinkable as he became the first fighter to knock out the Hawaiian.
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