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Ilia Topuria Ready To Confirm The Hype Is Real
Featherweight Rides 5-Fight Win Streak Into First UFC Main Event Saturday In Jacksonville
Ilia Topuria has never been short on confidence.
Speaking with the featherweight ahead of his sophomore appearance in the UFC against Damon Jackson a couple years ago, Topuria told me — guaranteed me — that he was going to be featherweight champion in two years.
“I know that in a maximum of two years, I am going to be UFC champion,” he said, just a few days prior to marching into the Octagon and stopping Jackson in the first round. “I don’t have any doubts about this.”
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While he over-estimated how quickly he could rise to the top of the division, the 26-year-old standout is still moving in the right direction.
Since beating Jackson, Topuria has added stoppage wins over Ryan Hall, Jai Herbert, and Bryce Mitchell to his resume, pushing his record to 5-0 under the UFC banner and 13-0 overall. Saturday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Topuria competes in his first UFC main event, squaring off with recent interim title challenger Josh Emmett in a bout that will have an immediate impact on the title picture in the 145-pound weight class.
“Yeah, of course, I’m happy with everything I have achieved in this period of time,” Topuria said with a grin on Tuesday afternoon. “I’m really happy with everything I’m doing. I feel really proud of myself.
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“Every time I look at myself in the mirror, I feel very proud about everything I’m doing, all the sacrifices I’m putting in. I feel like I’ve proven no one can match my level of skill inside the cage, and I’m proving that in all my fights.
“This fight isn’t going to be different,” he added. “I’m going to prove that no one can match my level of skill inside the cage. I’m the best and I’m going to prove it again on Saturday night.”
Ilia Topuria | Top Finishes
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Ilia Topuria | Top Finishes
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Topuria is currently in that tricky position ascendent talents often find themselves in as they continue to work forward in their respective weight classes. He’s essentially the Schrödinger’s cat of the featherweight division.
In the thought experiment by Erwin Schrödinger, a cat placed in a sealed box may simultaneously be considered alive or dead based on its fate being linked to an event that may or may not occur.
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Essentially, the cat may be alive because the event didn’t happen, and the cat may be dead because the event did happen; both are equally plausible and no one will know the outcome for sure until they open the box.
In regards to Topuria, he might be the best fighter in the featherweight division. He also might not be, and no one will know for sure until he steps into the Octagon with someone that turns him back.
Thus far, that hasn’t happened.
He’s been pushed at times, and was dropped by a head kick in the first round of his fight with Herbert last year in London, but each time he’s stepped into the Octagon, Topuria has walked out with a victory in hand. And since going the distance with Youssef Zalal in his short-notice debut, he’s done so without needing any input from the judges, which makes it easy to see why the Georgian fighter who lives and trains in Alicante, Spain, is brimming with confidence, both heading into Saturday’s contest with Emmett, and in general.
“I don’t care what people think about me: I know who I am, what I’m capable of doing, and I have God by my side all the time,” Topuria said when asked about those that still question whether he has what it takes to back up his bold statements and work his way to the top of the division. “I feel ready for this moment. I’ve worked not just this training camp, but my whole life for this moment and I feel more than ready.
“You will see — I’m going to make it look real easy; people will be surprised with my performance this time.”
Beating Emmett is a tall order — he’s 18-3 over the course of his career — and no one has ever considered him an easy out.
While he enters Saturday’s headlining bout off a second-round submission loss to Yair Rodriguez at UFC 284 in February, the 38-year-old Team Alpha Male staple has been a fixture in the Top 10 for the last five or six years, posting knockout wins over Ricardo Lamas and Michael Johnson, and additional victories over Shane Burgos, Dan Ige, and Calvin Kattar.
Ilia Topuria Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Topuria
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Ilia Topuria Fight Week Interview | UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Topuria
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He is, without question, the most experienced opponent Topuria has faced to date, but the undefeated standout with the unwavering self-belief sees something else when he looks at the man he’ll share the Octagon with this weekend.
“The guy has taken a lot of punches in his fights,” Topuria said of Emmett, who went the distance in hard-fought battles with Burgos, Ige, and Kattar, the latter of which was a five-round main event. “I test myself with a lot of fighters. I saw him fight. I analyzed his skills and it’s not like I think (I’m better than him) — I know I’m way better than him.
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“Everywhere the fight takes place, I’m way better than him,” he said, reiterating his position. “In striking, I’m better than him. In wrestling, I’m better than him. On the ground, I’m better than him.”
So far, Topuria has backed up these claims in each of his previous five outings.
He battered Jackson on the feet, showcasing the speed, precision, and power in his hands, and he adeptly dealt with the awkward entries and general funkiness of Hall, avoiding the ground with him until the opportunity to finish presented itself and he took it.
He rallied against Herbert, up a division, getting knocked around for the majority of the first round before dispatching the lightweight veteran a minute and change into the second round with a clubbing right hand. And against Mitchell, he neutralized the Arkansas native’s wrestling, busted him up on the feet, and then forced him to the canvas, submitting him with swiftness once getting there.
This weekend, he fully intends to continue cutting down opponents in decisive fashion when he steps in there with Emmett.
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“He will not be able to touch me; you’re gonna see that,” said Topuria, smiling. “I bring really good head movement, my timing will be perfect. I’m gonna go in, move out, counter his punches. I’m gonna do a lot of things that people will be like, ‘That’s the guy! The hype is real!’
"I don’t want to go inside that cage and do a dog fight — that’s not my style. When you’re doing a dog fight, it’s because you’re taking punches, and I’m never taking punches; I’m a punisher.”
I tell him he’s a matador, just as his nickname suggests, and his face lights up.
“And what does the matador do?” he asked. “He just (waves imaginary red flag) and moves out of the way.”
And should that come to pass — should Schrödinger’s fighter continue to leave us unsure whether he is or isn’t the best fighter in the featherweight division — Topuria plans to stick around the States and head to Las Vegas to watch UFC 290, eager to watch the title unification bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Yair Rodriguez in person.
Because he believes he’ll be facing the winner next.
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“Without any doubt; I’m the next guy,” he answered when asked about the possibility of a decisive win on Saturday earning him a title shot. “After this fight, I will be fighting for the championship.”
Will he or won’t he?
Is he or isn’t he?
Those questions can’t be answered right now, and they might not be answered on Saturday, either, but that’s a big part of what makes Topuria so fascinating right now, and appointment viewing this weekend.
UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs Topuria took place live from the Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida on June 24, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
