Ilia Topuria has every reason to feel confident heading into his highly anticipated lightweight title bout with Charles Oliveira. Topuria holds a 100% record in MMA after 16 fights, with half of those victories coming in the UFC.
The fight, which will be the main event for UFC 317 this coming weekend, will crown a new double champion in the UFC. Oliveira was the lightweight champ previously for just under a year between 2021 and 2022. Topuria, meanwhile, has the chance to become the tenth two-division champ in UFC history this weekend.
‘La Leyenda’ surprised the MMA world when he announced his intention to jump up to lightweight earlier this year, vacating his featherweight title in the process. At the time of the announcement, he’d been the champion for just over a year.
Weight gains and cuts often usher in an air of skepticism around a fighter. Movement between weight divisions, especially when completed rapidly, can severely impair performance.
Worryingly, though, for Oliveira, the process of gaining weight has been an enjoyable process for Topuria, providing a great contrast to his previous experiences of weight cutting.
“This is the first time that I actually feel like I’m 100 percent, because in the past, I always had to cut the weight,” revealed Topuria in an exclusive interview with the UFC. “I always had to suffer mentally [and] physically. This time, I have been able to enjoy the whole process. I feel like I’m at 100 percent.”
“My power is on point. My stamina is on point. Everything is on point. So I feel very, very powerful at this weight class. Of course, the guys are bigger, but I’m bigger also, and I have more power. Everything I have it’s more in this weight class. Actually, I belong to this weight class naturally.”
It’s a startling admission from one of the UFC’s most dominant stars of the past few years. Topuria defeated UFC veterans Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski in his last two fights, handing the former his first-ever KO.
Finishes, particularly KOs, have become a Topuria trademark. ‘El Matador’ has finished six of his eight opponents in the UFC. But Topuria will need to be wary of his UFC 317 opponent, as he has delivered a fair few finishes in his time as well.
Ilia Topuria: Oliveira’s fighting style is a ‘perfect’ match for me
Ilia Topuria’s nickname, ‘La Leyenda’, translates to ‘the legend’. But with the prospect of defeating another UFC legend on the cards, Topuria might need to align himself with WWE’s Randy Orton and adopt the ‘Legend Killer’ moniker going forward.
Topuria will be very confident, having knocked out two featherweight all-timers in Holloway and Volkanovski in his last two bouts. But Topuria is very much aware and respectful of what Oliveira brings to the Octagon.
“He has done amazing things in the sport. I respect him as a sportsman. As a human being, he seems to be a nice guy. But we are going to fight. And when we are competing with each other, I go all in. Just be careful!”
That being said, Topuria is also relishing the fight for a more tactical reason.
“To be honest, his style is perfect for me, because I don’t need to close the distance with him – he walks forward from the first second,” Topuria noted. “Those kinds of styles are much easier for me, because most of the time I have to close the distance with my opponents.”
Despite having to adjust to the styles of Holloway and Volkanovski, he made relatively quick work of the two featherweights. Holloway fell in the third round, Volkanovski in the second. However, Topuria believes Oliveira will be finished even faster.
“But I think that it’s going to be very, very quick, because I’m going to finish him in the first two or three minutes.”
For the sake of UFC 317’s paying audience, let’s hope that Topuria’s timing isn’t as good as he thinks it is.
