UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria Hits as a truck.
A long -term featherweight with more entries than knockouts, there is no refusal of the power of Topuria on 155 pounds after destroying former champion Charles Oliveira with punches on UFC 317.
These are three straight Ko's for Ilia Topuria, who have eliminated the current title holders Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in back-to-back fights at featherweight.
In 17 Pro fights, only two hunters made the distance of Topuria: Youssef Zalal and the gray veteran Josh Emmett.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Josh Emmett reflects on the only hunter who goes 5 rounds with Ilia Topuria
Emmett is the only hunter who goes for a full 25 minutes with the hard -handy topuria.
Under the most difficult batters of the featherweight division, Emmett became the first hunter to see the championship rounds against Topuria in the main event of UFC Jacksonville on 24 June 2023.
Topuria has caused tons of damage to Emmett in the boxing department and peppered with strikes. Topuria almost finished Emmett in back-to-back rounds and even picked up a rare 10-7 score card for how bad he bleed Emmett in round 4.
The Sustainable Emmett showed its heart and would survive to see the distance and Topuria won through a decision in one of the skewed important events in the UFC history.
Yet Emmett keeps his head high, because his loss for an unbeaten two -division champion.
“No risk, no story,” Emmett said about his former fight against Topuria.
“Respect. Dear chin in UFC,” a fan replied to Emmett.
“How did you experience 5 RDS with that demon?” Another fan asked Emmett.
“That fight was epic. Josh, given what Ilia has become, you can be even more proud of this performance,” wrote a fan on X.
Ilia Topuria also fought against a decision in his UFC debut
After eight consecutive finishing on the regional scene, Topuria was signed at the UFC in 2020.
Unlike those fights, Topuria found no finish against Federweight Youssef Zalal at a UFC Fight Island event in October 2020. Instead, 'El Matador' won the full 15 minutes for the first time in his career.
Topuria came on a notice period of 8 days and had COVID-19 prior to the fight.
Topuria's opponent Zalal has claimed that he gave Topuria his most difficult fight so far.
“I was the most difficult match-up of Ilia Topuria,” said Zalal on UFC Vegas 89 Media Day.
“Josh Emmett was not a hard match-up, that was an easy match-up.”