Ilia Topuria replicated Conor McGregor’s feat of winning both the UFC featherweight and lightweight titles, but who did it better?
The culmination of Topuria’s two-division ambitions came this past Saturday night, when he headlined the International Fight Week pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.
Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to claim the 155-pound belt, which had been vacated by Islam Makhachev ahead of the Dagestani’s own move up.
The brutal result at T-Mobile Arena followed two similarly violent performances by ‘El Matador’ against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in 2024. The Spaniard finished the former to win the featherweight title and became the very first to sleep the latter in defense of the crown.
With that, Topuria has quickly become the first man to win those two belts since McGregor, whose three straight title fight wins have long been heralded as one of the best runs of all-time.
- READ MORE: Paddy Pimblett sparked bitter Ilia Topuria rivalry with controversial dig that ‘made his blood boil’
Aljamain Sterling puts Ilia Topuria’s last three victories above Conor McGregor’s run of title fight wins
After Topuria ended Oliveira’s immediate hopes of a second lightweight title reign in emphatic fashion, many were in awe of the trio of victories that have extended the Spaniard’s perfect pro record to 17-0.
Among them was former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who suggested that Topuria’s last three victories have gone above and beyond McGregor’s triumphs over Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, and Eddie Alvarez.
“It’s greater than Conor’s run,” Sterling said on his YouTube podcast. “Ilia has done the craziest and greatest thing that we’ve ever seen from a modern-day UFC fighter.
“You look at Conor — and this is no shade towards Conor — I would say his best run in terms of name value was Chad Mendes, but it was short notice…then he fought Jose Aldo, right? I think it was right after. And then he fought Eddie Alvarez.
“But then you have Ilia,” Sterling continued. “His last three people have been some of the greatest combat athletes of all time. It’s insane what this guy has done.
“I don’t think there’s been a more impressive three-fight run than this.”
After overcoming a tough stylistic matchup against Mendes, McGregor made history by starching Aldo in just 13 seconds.
After a two-fight series with Nate Diaz that they split, ‘The Notorious’ returned to championship competition by outclassing Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden to become the first-ever simultaneous UFC ‘champ-champ.’
- READ MORE: Ilia Topuria reveals Islam Makhachev promise he kept to the UFC in the aftermath of UFC 317 KO
Conor McGregor reacted to Ilia Topuria’s UFC 317 win
While inactive as a fighter, McGregor remains extremely active on social media, often reacting to moments on major UFC cards.
With that in mind, the Irishman unsurprisingly had something to say as Topuria collected the title he formerly held at UFC 317, albeit briefly.
“Congrats on winning my old titles, Ilia! He said he’s gonna rest his balls on Paddy’s head too, haha fair play,” McGregor wrote.
“Good lightweight scrap that one is as well, in my opinion. UFC is back? Or still missing something? Three KOs back to back to back is very good. No one can deny the knockout. I like (the rose).”
McGregor often takes aim at fighters but refrained from doing so in the instance of the newly crowned lightweight champ, instead getting a laugh out of Topuria’s face-off with Paddy Pimblett.