Ilia Topuria has ambitions of entering the greatest of all time discussion.
The Spaniard’s journey toward that has begun in strong fashion, with Topuria knocking out Alexander Volkanovski to become UFC featherweight champion in February 2024.
His reign was ultimately a short one, however. Rather than being unseated from the throne, ‘El Matador’ vacated it following a successful defense against Max Holloway, choosing to pursue title glory elsewhere.
In his return to the lightweight division, Topuria will fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 for the vacant belt, which Islam Makhachev will relinquish ahead of a weight switch of his own.
‘Do Bronx’ is tasked with doing what no one has accomplished thus far inside the cage. And with that, he could do well to listen to a recent breakdown of the undefeated Topuria from a UFC legend.
Demetrious Johnson outlines path to troubling Ilia Topuria in the Octagon
During an appearance on the Red Hawk Recap podcast, hosted by Sean O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch, UFC GOAT contender Demetrious Johnson assessed Topuria’s fearsome game.
Having displayed a well-rounded arsenal en route to an 8-0 UFC record, many have been left wondering how the former featherweight kingpin can be beaten.
According to ‘Mighty Mouse’, the answer could lie in the clinch.
“I think somebody who is able to expose him like — he’s very good at that range, that slow, check, slow, check, and he gets in there and throws like five-punch combinations,” Johnson said.
“Once somebody gets him in that clinch, that area, that’s where I think we will see how he reacts…that area we haven’t seen him fight.
“If I was to fight Ilia, I would fight him in the clinch. It’s like, ‘Ok, outside he hits too hard, he’s gonna stalk me. If I shoot, he’s gonna defend…what would he do in the clinch?’ … That’s where I’m like I wanna see what he would do.”
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Ilia Topuria’s undefeated run in the UFC
Of the eight names conquered by Topuria in the UFC, very few have come even close to identifying a weakness in the Spaniard’s style.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Ryan Hall was brutally KO’d by Topuria, while top wrestler Bryce Mitchell was ragdolled by ‘El Matador’ en route to a submission defeat.
As for the strikers, Topuria notably became the first man to put Holloway to sleep and sent Volkanovski to the same fate to hand the Australian his only loss to date at 145 pounds.
| Result | Opponent | Method | Date |
| Win | Max Holloway | KO | UFC 308 |
| Win | Alexander Volkanovski | KO | UFC 298 |
| Win | Josh Emmett | Decision | UFC Jacksonville |
| Win | Bryce Mitchell | Submission | UFC 282 |
| Win | Jai Herbert | KO | UFC London |
| Win | Ryan Hall | KO | UFC 264 |
| Win | Damon Jackson | KO | UFC Vegas 16 |
| Win | Youssef Zalal | Decision | UFC Fight Island 5 |
Oliveira has displayed a strong ability to recover from knockdowns on the feet and go on to have his hand raised. With that, he will look to eat all that Topuria has to offer come fight night at International Fight Week.
But if the Brazilian becomes the ex-featherweight’s next victim, the path to GOAT status will no doubt shorten for the always-confident Topuria.