By Collin Hatfield
October 20, 2025 | 10:00 a.m.
There is an infamous “feel-out round” we always see in MMA, specifically in title fights. Ilia Topuria doesn’t believe in that. With just 2:27 left in the first round, he knocked out former Lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. And somehow, capturing the title wasn’t even the most impressive part of the moment.
From Grappler to Knockout Artist
At that time, Topuria had just completed arguably the best 3-fight win streak the promotion has ever seen. Consecutive wins over the likes of Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira, three legends who have a combined record of 89-23, with a total of 15 championship fight wins.
Then, Topuria became only the 10th fighter in UFC history to hold belts in two weight classes (lightweight and featherweight). While all of those things are impressive, it’s sometimes the things that slip through the cracks that can reveal the greater story.
The Making of a Modern Fighter
In an interview with BBC Sport’s Simon Head, Topuria is quoted saying, “I always said I represent the new generation of mixed martial artists… You have to be a complete fighter.” This is a bold claim to make when your predecessors were guys like Max Holloway, Islam Makhachev, Alexandre Pantoja, Israel Adesanya, and more. Talents that have redefined the sport and ushered us into a new era.
However, none of his words were fluff. He converted the remnant of fans that didn’t yet buy in. Liking Topuria is every fan’s individual decision and in a business where authenticity is scarce and fans flock to characters rather than fighters, it’s easy to get lost in the excess. But after June 28th, the name Ilia Topuria commands respect and positioning as the first face on the Mount Rushmore of new generation fighters.
In sports, there are specialists and well-rounded athletes, and then there are the competitive freaks who will make it their mission to dominate you in your area of expertise. That’s the category Topuria falls in. Winning simply isn’t enough. He’s cut from the cloth seen in champions from other sports like Michael Jordan and Tom Brady, where they use obsessive preparation, often knowing your game plan as well as you do.
An underappreciated aspect of these types of athletes is their mission to prove a point in spectacular fashion. This trait is illustrated perfectly with Jordan’s relationship to positional foe Clyde Drexler.
It became a talking point that Drexler deserved to be mentioned with MJ as the best shooting guard in the game, but to Jordan that was simply unacceptable. That prompted his signature shrug game where he shredded the Portland Trailblazers. In the first game of the 1992 NBA Finals against Portland, Jordan scored 35 points in the first half. To add on to the statement, he made six three-pointers stamping himself as the best shooting guard in the league.
This is a trend that has slowly been forming in the game of Topuria. One of the first fights displaying this was his battle with UFC Featherweight Bryce Mitchell. Mitchell had three submission wins in the UFC and was starting to be seen as one of the better submission artists in the division before running into Topuria. In the words of Joe Rogan, Topuria “ragdolled” Mitchell, who is an experienced Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, and the threat of his ground game keeps most of his fights on the feet.
We can also point to his matchup with champion Alexander Volkanovski, widely regarded as one of the most technical and elite strikers in the sport. Topuria prior to the fight guaranteed a finish and proclaimed it would be easy. You can already guess by now that he delivered remarkably, knocking the two-time champion out stiff. Lastly, and perhaps most impressive, was his knockout win over Max Holloway.
The former Featherweight champion was coming off of possibly the most historic knockout in UFC history, where he flatlined 155lb brawler Justin Gaethje in the last second of the fight. That positioned him to battle once again for the Featherweight throne. Holloway is a sublime striker and has cardio for days, but another constant in his game is his durability and chin. In 34 prior fights, he was officially dropped just once, despite fighting names like Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Jose Aldo, and more. Safe to say Holloway can take a beating and has the necessary defense to let his all-time great striking shine through. This was on display where he delivered three solid rounds against Topuria.
This solid effort would be abruptly stopped when Topuria’s brother Aleksandre Topuria commanded the champion to press the action. Within minutes, Topuria marched him down and rocked his head back with a nuclear right hand. Then, with the instincts of an animal he closed the distance and threw a show-ending hook that shattered the chin of the once invincible Max Holloway.
Topuria has left a trail of legends, devastated with a combination of trailblazing skills and a fortified mental game that has withstood every challenge thrown at him.
To understand the rise of Topuria you must see through the fluff. Look past the jets, the expensive suits, the private in-house gym he operates out of. It can all be appealing but it takes away from his essence as a fighter. We might know him currently as the best boxer in the promotion’s history, but he started as a grappling specialist. He may talk a big game, but you don’t develop into this type of boxer by accident. He is a rugged gym rat, dedicated to winning and perfecting his craft for the world to watch.
Redefining the word “Complete”
We can’t let it be lost that he is one of the most complete fighters combat sports has ever seen. From grappling with historic submission artist Charles Oliveira to knocking out striking wizard Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria has engineered an archetype where being elite across the board is not a luxury, but rather a requirement.
The wonderful part of this game is that the cycle never fails. One day he will be the old man competing with a younger talent that’s pushing the game forward. More than likely, someone will take his “0” and the pecking order will be reset with the chase beginning all over again. However, for now let’s appreciate this special talent and enjoy as he pushes the sport forward.
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