Ilia Topuria is a phenom. After knocking Charles Oliveira out in the main event of UFC 317, he has now reached double-champ status. While he is growing to be the UFC’s biggest star, now the question has to be asked: who’s next?
At first, he reigned supreme at featherweight. His rise to the top was quick and he then knocked out the two best 145ers of all time in consecutive fights. He took the title from Alex Volkanovski, connecting a big right hand that landed flush, down the pipe of the former champ. Then, he became the first man in history to record a knock out on Max Holloway.
Having nothing left to prove on featherweight, Topuria decided to go up a weight class. His resume granted him an immediate title shot. The lightweight division had a vacant belt, so the UFC put Topuria with former champion and fan-favorite Charles Oliveira. After sending Oliveira to the shadow realm, Topuria now has a plethora of new opponents.
First and foremost, he faced off with Paddy Pimblett just after the fight. These two have a long-standing beef. However, UFC president Dana White said “I don’t know who the hell let [Pimblett] in there. That should’ve never happened. Let’s start there. I was already back in my room, or that would’ve never happened.” Paddy is a candidate but not the number one contender. You also have Justin Gaethje in the mix, or Arman Tsarukyan.
Topuria is a legend killer
Topuria is just 28 years old and his resume already has two-division-champ status and plenty of legends destroyed. Volkanovski, Holloway and Oliveira are certified future Hall of Famers and Topuria put them cold on the canvas.
However, he also derailed the career of other two prospects the UFC had. First, he knocked out Ryan Hall in 2021. Hall was 8-1 at that point and since then, he only fought once more and has had multiple knee injuries. Topuria also took the hype away from Bryce Mitchell, who was 15-0 at the time. Following that loss, Mitchell is just 2-2 in the UFC and far away from a UFC title shot. Topuria is taking souls in the octagon, left and right.
Topuria is on pace to become top 5 of all time
When you look at the UFC greats, it’s not only the belts they had, but the names they took out in the process. Topuria is building an all-time great resume. If he retired today, he would have a Hall of Fame career at only 28 years old. Not only that, but he is still undefeated with a 17-0 record and 15 finishes. There are no weaknesses on his game.
If he can continue this (there’s no reason to think he won’t), he will end up in the discussion with Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones, who just recently retired.