Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is full of praise for featherweight kingpin Ilia Topuria following this weekend’s pay-per-view event.
Topuria cemented his grip on the crown at 145 pounds on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, where he headlined UFC 308 opposite fan-favorite legend Max Holloway eight months on from his knockout of Alexander Volkanovski.
Despite being faced with a previously indestructible chin, “El Matador” vowed to put Holloway down for the first time. And against the predictions of many, the 27-year-old did just that after connecting with a vicious left hook in round three.
With the result, Topuria has added a successful defense to his reign, remained undefeated in MMA, and staked a strong claim for 2024’s Fighter of the Year accolade.
Among those running out of superlatives for the Spaniard is Cormier, who analyzed where the champ sits among the all-time featherweight greats during a video uploaded to his YouTube channel.
Plenty of comparisons have been made between Topuria and Conor McGregor in recent times, and the Irishman has even dismissed the reigning titleholder’s talents compared to his featherweight iteration.
“DC,” however, sees parts of “El Matador’s” game that go above and beyond McGregor’s.
“I don’t know if we have ever seen a guy at 145 that punches like this dude. He hits like no one I’ve ever seen before,” Cormier said. “Conor McGregor had great power at 145, but Conor McGregor I don’t think had the skills that Ilia Topuria has in terms of his pure boxing, without going and fighting a pure boxing match.
“I was talking to some of the people in the back and they told me, ‘He’s like GGG (Gennadiy Golovkin),’ and I agree. Remember GGG just used to starch dudes early in his career? Topuria’s like that. Topuria is that guy,” Cormier continued. “He has that power to knock you out and just do it in absolutely devastating fashion. You try to find the words to describe him, but it’s proving very, very difficult. I never thought that anybody would be able to knock out Max Holloway.”
While getting McGregor back to the cage to fight Michael Chandler proved too much of a challenge in recent years, talk of him doing battle with Topuria has suddenly gained strength in the aftermath of UFC 308.
Volkanovski will evidently have something to say about that, however, having been confirmed as next in line for Topuria by UFC CEO Dana White following the Abu Dhabi-held PPV.
