One fighter’s loss to UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria is aging well.
17 fighters have tried to solve the puzzle of Ilia Topuria and 17 ultimately failed. A heavy-handed boxer with a Greco-Roman wrestling game to back him, Topuria has proven himself a tough man to beat after knocking out three fan favorites in a row: Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira.
Topuria joined an elite club of two-division champions when he laid out former lightweight champ Oliveira in the opening round at UFC 317 last weekend.
There are only two fighters who have survived against Topuria in MMA. Josh Emmett, who was praised for his toughness across five rounds, and another featherweight, who could go all the way to the title.
Kenny Florian sees Youssef Zalal as potential title challenger after going the distance with Ilia Topuria
Youssef Zalal is the first and only fighter to reach a three-round decision with Topuria.
Not only that, Zalal came out relatively unscathed against Topuria in their fight at UFC Fight Island in Oct. 2020.
It was Topuria’s promotional debut. The future champion got the UFC call on short notice and dealt with COVID-19 prior to his fight with Zalal. Topuria would end up getting his hand raised in a hard-fought fight, losing the third round to Zalal en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Zalal is currently ranked #11 in the UFC featherweight division after beating perennial contender Calvin Kattar. Two-time UFC title challenger Kenny Florian sees Zalal fighting for the UFC title someday.
“Youssef Zalal, I think is interesting,” Florian said on 3 Punch Convo.
“I think he’s a guy that can certainly challenge for the belt.
“I think people are sleeping on him. If he puts it all together on a really good night, dude, he’s a problem.
“People forget he went all three rounds, went fifteen minutes with the great Ilia Topuria.
“That loss is looking better and better,” Florian said of Zalal.
Zalal has claimed he is Topuria’s ‘hardest matchup’.
Kenny Florian says Mauricio Ruffy is ‘intriguing’ title threat for Ilia Topuria
Talking about the best fighters outside the top-10, Florian likes what he sees in the unranked lightweight Mauricio Ruffy.
The Fighting Nerds’ Ruffy is 12-1 as a pro and 3-0 in the UFC after brutally finishing King Green in a KO of the year contender at UFC 313.
While he doesn’t have a number next to his name, Ruffy is already calling out the champion Topuria post UFC 317, wanting to avenge his KO’ed countryman Charles Oliveira.
“Mauricio Ruffy is special,” Florian said of The Fighting Nerds’ star.
“Even when I see him now, in regards to Topuria, I’m like does he beat Topuria, though?
“I don’t know…
“Ruffy, he’s got that certain something and he’s a lot bigger than Topuria.
“I think as he develops, that fight is gonna get more and more intriguing,” Florian said of Topuria vs. Ruffy.