UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria hits like a truck.
A longtime featherweight with more submissions than knockouts, there’s no denying Topuria’s power at 155 lbs after destroying former champ Charles Oliveira with punches at UFC 317.
That’s three straight KOs for Ilia Topuria, having taken out current titleholders Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in back-to-back fights at featherweight.
In 17 pro fights, only two fighters have made it the distance with Topuria: Youssef Zalal and the grizzled veteran Josh Emmett.
Josh Emmett reflects on being the only fighter to go 5 rounds with Ilia Topuria
Emmett is the only fighter to go a full 25 minutes with the heavy-handed Topuria.
Among the hardest hitters of the featherweight division, Emmett became the first fighter to see the championship rounds against Topuria in the main event of UFC Jacksonville on June 24, 2023.
Topuria dealt tons of damage to Emmett in the boxing department, peppering his face with strikes. Topuria nearly finished Emmett in back-to-back rounds and even picked up a rare 10-7 scorecard for how badly he bloodied Emmett in round 4.
Showing his heart, the durable Emmett would survive to see the distance and Topuria won via decision in one of the most lopsided main events in UFC history.
Still, Emmett holds his head high, as his loss was to an undefeated two-division champion.
“No risk, no story,” Emmett said of his past fight against Topuria.
“Respect. Best chin in UFC,” one fan replied to Emmett.
“How did you last 5 rds with that demon?” another fan asked Emmett.
“That fight was epic. Josh, considering what Ilia has become, you can be even more proud of this performance,” a fan wrote on X.
Ilia Topuria also fought to a decision in his UFC debut
After eight-straight finishes on the regional scene, Topuria was signed to the UFC in 2020.
Unlike those fights, Topuria didn’t find a finish against featherweight Youssef Zalal at a UFC Fight Island event in Oct. 2020. Instead, ‘El Matador’ won by decision, going the full 15 minutes for the first time in his career.
Topuria came in on 8 days’ notice and had COVID-19 prior to the fight.
Topuria’s opponent Zalal has claimed he gave Topuria his toughest fight to date.
“Ilia Topuria’s hardest match-up was me,” Zalal said at UFC Vegas 89 media day.
“Josh Emmett was not a hard match-up, that was an easy match-up.”