Ilia Topuria has arguably one of the best fighters in the UFC.
Despite having a background in submission wrestling, Topuria has found a home for his devastating striking, now owning knockouts against two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in promotional history: Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski.
Topuria's left demolition job over Holloway was the most impressive, as 'Blessed' had barely wobbled – or fallen – in 29 UFC appearances.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Ilia Topuria shows off boxing skills by decimating training partner
This brutality extends to the training room, where Topuria tackles his training partners in a similar manner. Most notably, Topuria is adept with the left body hook, something he used to land his spectacular finish over Damon Jackson in 2020.
He showed this off in recent training footage shared on social media, courtesy of Home of Fight on X. 'El Matador' drops his training partner several times with pounding liver shots.
How Ilia Topuria sets up his heartbreaking body shots
It is essential to note that Topuria's straight shots and hooks to the head are extremely heavy-handed. His physicality at featherweight is enough to give him openings that other fighters wouldn't consider.
Combined with the fact that he rarely throws kicks, Topuria is almost always able to strike, whether through smooth footwork or ring generalship. In the video, one of Topuria's techniques involves taking his opponent's backarm out of position and getting under it with the left body shot.
Boxing 101 is hitting one target to make another target vulnerable. Topuria's head and body photographs are symbiotic in the sense that one sets up the other. In the sparring footage, Topuria's nasty headshots pull his partner's guard away from his midsection.
At his most vulnerable against the wall, Topuria's partner expects more shots to the head, but receives a crushing blow to the body. He did this exceptionally well against Jai Herbert and Holloway.
Topuria targets retreating opponents in the body. He also relieves the body when opponents come within range without obligation. One of his most effective strategies is to rip to the body when an opponent has his back against the cage, as the head can be evasive and it is easier to hit ground.
In a more niche case, Topuria likes to shoot wings at the body of opponents who assume safety in the Thai clinch. His stature allows him to generate significant power on short shots while his opponent has a firm grip around his neck.
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