Fear of Topuria – AS.com
Everything changed in February of this year. The promise came true. Ilya Topuria, who already had a score of 15-0 on Instagram, who actively and passively repeated that he felt like a world champion, He knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, considered the best featherweight of all time, and changed the history of mixed martial arts in Spain. as well as becoming one of the UFC’s greatest figures. Since then, thanks to its rapid growth in popularity both nationally and internationally, much of the American company’s news has been linked to El Matador, which never leaves anyone indifferent. A Latin American of Georgian origin, who will have his first defense this Saturday, vs. Max Holloway at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabiwas on the lips of all great fighters. Probably with double fear. The literal one, the one that fills the octagon, and the metaphorical one, the fear that Topuria could become the great image of the UFC.
Holloway, his next opponent, is one of the most prominent examples. Once he defeated Justin Gaethje, the Hawaiian challenged Ilya, the man of the moment. However, when the fight had to be formalized, the process dragged on. “At first it was confirmed that he was going to fight in the Sphere. (September 14 in Las Vegas). Then I received information that Max Holloway has problems in his family, that he cannot lose weight because he wants to rise to the highest category,” explained “El Matador” in conversation with AS. “Holloway kept avoiding fighting me. He asked about many, many fighters, but they told him (SFC): – No, Max. You will have to fight Elijah because he wants to fight you.” He had to agree, but at first he tried very hard to avoid me,” he added recently in a conversation with Canadian journalist Ariel Helwani.
Increase
Until the Holloway fight was called off, there were many names that were verbally clashing with Topuria. First of all, of course, there is Conor McGregor, the great image of the UFC, a place that “El Matador” wants to occupy in the not too distant future. The Irishman essentially sided with Holloway in his next fight with the Latino-Georgian. “Holloway is back and he more than deserves it.” (Topuria has repeatedly emphasized that Volkanovski beat the Hawaiian three times). Two-time featherweight champion. He tried to become a two-time champion. He is the current BMF champion. No, he’s real. “It’s always been like this” wrote McGregor in “X”showing a clear preference to increase your figure Blessed higher than El Matador, even in terms of business beyond the fight itself.
All against the invincible
An alliance against Topuria, which actually extends much further. Although analysts and bookmakers consider the Latino to be the clear favorite over Holloway, 20 out of 24 UFC fighters named the Hawaiian as the winner in their predictionsthereby predicting that he would be the one to break his undefeated record. “I saw the forecasts of all the UFC fighters… all the lazy ones. To hell with everyone. After I knocked him out (to Holloway)“I don’t even want them to say hello if they see me.” “El Matador,” who had few votes on his side in the company, did not have to wait long to respond. One of them, although not fully resolved, was the question of Gaethje, who could not deny the presence of Elijah’s weapon. “It’s a crazy fight and Topuria has power so if he touches him he can knock him out. But we’ll see. “Topuria had a very impressive fight with Volkanovski, so we’ll see how he performs,” he analyzed recently.
Besides those who competed in his next challenge, there were many others who, since impressing the world with the Volkanovski knockout, have crossed Topuria’s path. Among them, current lightweight champion and number one in the weight category Islam Makhachev, which Ilya also has in his head. “Of course, I see myself in a fight against Makhachev. He’s a great fighter. Sometimes he talks too much, sometimes he doesn’t… but we can always solve this problem in the Octagon. Not on the street, because I will have to pay for his entire recovery,” said a Latino of Georgian origin. “If Topuria continues in the same spirit, the situation may get out of control. Something might happen. So far I haven’t seen anyone cross any personal boundaries, nothing like that has happened yet.”The Russian fighter threatened a confrontation, in which many of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s students took part. To complete the circle, Volkanovski also recently confirmed his desire for revenge. Everyone is against Topuria.
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