Ilia Topuria is fast becoming the face of the UFC, and it looks like ‘El Matador’ has no plans to slow down. The hard-hitting 155-pound champion now intends to quickly clear names off his hit list and is ready to take on both Islam Makhachev and Paddy Pimblett on the same night.
Following his incredible three-fight run, where he KOd promotional legends Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and most recently Charles Oliveira, few MMA fans doubt the Georgian-born Spaniard’s skills in the octagon.
If his recent interviews are any evidence, Topuria is also becoming one of the industry’s best guys on the mic.
In a recent interview uploaded to MARCA’s YouTube channel, Topuria proclaimed that if it were up to him, he’d expedite UFC Spain and finish both Makhachev and Pimblett on the same night:
“If it were up to me, next Saturday we’d have UFC Spain. [I’d fight] against Makhachev in the first round, and Paddy in the second.”
Check out Ilia Topuria’s comments below:
Topuria has notable rivalries with both men. When ‘El Matador’ first decided to move up to lightweight, he had hoped to fight Makhachev for the title. However, the Dagestani had other plans and transitioned to welterweight to try and win a second title.
This, however, has not deterred Topuria as he hopes to face the former pound-for-pound king down the line, at welterweight. He and Pimblett also share a long-standing rivalry, and even faced off following ‘El Matador’s’ historic UFC 317 title win.
Paddy Pimblett feels Ilia Topuria is trying to imitate Conor McGregor every step of the way. However, the Englishman doesn’t believe the reigning lightweight champion is as gifted a mixed martial artist as ‘The Notorious’ was in his prime.
Speaking to UFC Unfiltered, ‘The Baddy’ noted that Topuria used a line McGregor once directed at Chad Mendes to trash-talk him during their UFC 317 face-off. Pimblett is also convinced that the Irishman would’ve come on top had he faced ‘El Matador’, in his heyday:
“He is trying to be Conor McGregor… He even said the other day that, ‘I’m gonna put my b***s on your forehead’, to me, which is sort of what McGregor said to Chad Mendes. He is just a carbon copy of McGregor… Even though you see some people are saying now he is better than McGregor, but he is not. In the prime, at the same time, McGregor would’ve knocked him out with a straight left.”
