Ilia Topuria has been warned by one of the longest standing voices in MMA to be careful what he wants when calling out Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The UFC featherweight champion has named former lightweight king Nurmagomedov as his ultimate dream opponent. While it is common knowledge that the Russian would never return to the octagon, even the mention of such a fight has made headlines among UFC fans.
However, one of the founders of MMA; Legendary referee John McCarthy has informed him that Nurmagomedov's dominance is unmatched by anyone currently competing. And he doesn't think the matchup would be wise for the Georgia-born Spaniard.
Ilia Topuria names Khabib Nurmagomedov as a dream opponent
Earlier this year, Ilia Topuria named Khabib Nurmagomedov as his dream opponent if he could fight anyone in the sport. The pair are at similar weights, but the Russian was significantly bigger and at times struggled to even reach the lightweight limit.
It was around the time Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 that he made these comments during an interview. “My dream opponent?” He asked before answering: “I would like to enter the octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Ilia Topuria's dream fight is against Khabib Nurmagomedov:
“I would love to enter the octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov. He had an undefeated record at 29-0 and he had an attractive record to me, then also history.
For me he is a worthy and honorable champion.[Iwould…pictwittercom/km3NZLwOxA[Iwould…pictwittercom/km3NZLwOxA[Ikzou…pictwittercom/km3NZLwOxA[Iwould…pictwittercom/km3NZLwOxA
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 25, 2024
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“He has an undefeated record of 29-0 and he has an attractive record to me. Then he also has history, for me he is a worthy and honorable champion.” When the host asked if he thinks he would actually win, Topuria replied: “100 percent.”
Ilia Topuria warned about Khabib Nurmagomedov's call
While reading about current events on their show Weighing In, this comment, which is almost a year old, just managed to find its way into Josh Thomson's news feed. And John McCarthy was quick to express the unlikelihood of such a battle going Topuria's way.
Thomson, a former Strikeforce world champion, admitted his biases as a longtime friend and teammate of Nurmagomedov, but the more objective McCarthy explained: “Look, Ilia Topuria is so good.
“But what he thinks would happen in stand-up is not quite what would happen and what he thinks would happen on the field is certainly not what would happen.
“If you're a guy with good jiu-jitsu, decent wrestling and a good ground game, Khabib proved that his wrestling for MMA was better than everyone else's! Everyone knew what he was going to do and they couldn't stop it, no one.
“That right there tells you how damn dominant he was in that area. They know exactly what you're going to do and they still can't stop it? OK. I think Ilia is a fantastic fighter, but the other thing is he's not nearly as big as Khabib.
“Look at the amount of control he can exert. Topuria would be taken down and systematically the fight would diminish in terms of his chances of winning it, from the shots he will ultimately make to the amount of output he tries to defend and return the favor.
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