@@GGS348I don’t agree w him being a goat but maybe he’s a fan favorite cause he’s been in all out wars over the course of his career ? He’s given us amazing fights and has been a very very good feather weight. So to say he’s only a fan favorite cause he’s a vet is kinda disrespectful
@GGS348 brother you are the type of fan I like..your realistic...max is good he's not elite ...he use to want to fight khabib..its a blessing he didn't...Islam made volk look weak topuria beat volk now he beats max who by the way volk beat a legit 2 times so what does Islam do to max...I know styles make fights my point isn't Islam is better than ilia they are different weight my point is topuria is beating old men that others are beating now
I think that if ilia had been fighting ANYONE else but our favorite fighters, he would be bigger than Alex Pereira rn. He’s just knocked out max and volk back to back. Like how volk beat max the first 2 times and had a lot of haters.
Yeah, stylistically, I agree. The only way I could see him losing is he's put up against someone who has a vast physical advantage over him (though even then, it won't be a walk in the park) but as far as matching him skill for skill, I don't think anyone can do it right now.
Its still Poatan for fighter of the year.He broke records for fastest 3 title defenses in UFC history and has 3 highlight reel knockouts plus saved the UFC on 3 different cards last minute.
Beating Volk and Max gives Ilia 2 ALL TIME wins and he knocked them both out back to back. Beating Volk alone and max alone is better than all 3 of Poatan’s wins.
The issue with Alex is that he has faced three stand up guys. We have to ask the question on whether he would win against a wrestler like Ankalaev. I am not saying he won't but you can't deny that Ankalaev is Alex's biggest challenge. Topuria meanwhile defeated two of the undisputed goats of featherweight division.
Ilja Topuria is the most skilled fighter in the UFC rn . Great boxing , Good wrestling, Great jui jitsu, Good cardio and excellent fight IQ, truly a special fighter 💯🌹
@@unitedstatesmarinecorps7.62 Ilia is too good for its competition. you need an elite and ferocious thai boxer to stop him(saenchai, buakaw, superlek...), there are none in his ufc division or the division above. ilia will defeat Lopez, Umar, Makachev...
Out of all champs, Ilia and Poatan are tied for FOTY. Alex had more fights this year, but quality of Ilia's opponents were out of this world. As a Georguan i want Ilia to get that, but wouldn't be mad if they give it to Pereira
Jiri, Hill, Rountree don’t touch any goat list. Volk and Holloway are both top ten fighters of all time arguably and top 2 all time in their division. This easily makes Ilia FOTY
volk was already coming from a loss.. holloway lost many times also.. Jiri got destroyed, Hil dint survive 1 rounds.. Rountree was his thirdt figjt in a year..
@@unknownunknown3692 volk was coming off a loss to Islam… pfp #1, Holloway was still well in his prime and is a top 10-15 fighter ever regardless of his losses.
Here's why ...first off islam made Volks look like a very pedestrian fighter...max also lost to many fighters 8 now ..those same fighters lost to men that Islam mauls
Thank you Halloway for the memories! He should look to retire next year before further damage as his chin is declining now. Topuria is the real deal, and his time is now!
Look at that moment in 0:01 A man, proud of himself, after doing something that nobody ever do, with his kid and his wife looking at him with pride and honor to be his wife. Nobody hates him, its just envy
What is DC talking about? Alex defended his title 3 times in a year. It needs guts to put a title on the line that often in one single year. Although i picked ilia to win and hes an undeniably amazing fighter, not FOTY.
I'm Georgian. I was Max fan before Ilia was even if the UFC. So i'm sad for him, but glad that Ilia was the first to do it. P.s. i rooted for Ilia to win
Ilia Topuria knocked out Volk and Holloway in sequence, you are aware of how gigantic this guy's achievement is, he has already entered UFC history at just 27 years old.
@@michaelneilvalencia2205they are not p4p greats,but they would beat 99 percent of humans,when this is weak let them fight max or volk and they would eat them for breakfast even both Cause their are weight classes for reasons
BTW ilia himself said POATAN deserves to be the fighter of the year...Topuria is indeed a badass and humble champ not to mention he backs his words ..he becomes villian to sell the fight which is actually correct in my book..if u wont sell ppl wont watch. Anyways MAX is legend he will forever be legend.
Ilia es el puto amo, no solo le gano a quien todos daban por uno de los mejores de la historia Volkanoski, le gano por KO en dos asaltos sino que ahora ha nokeado al bmf cuando nadie lo habia nokeado jamas!!!!! Como el dice, Ilia sencillamente esta a otro nivel, es de otro planeta.
I knew Illia was great when I saw him walk right through Bryce Mitchell and then when he beat Josh Emmet it was a great fight but then he goes out there and KO’s Volk in the second round! and then he KO’s max in the 3rd round!! Dude… I always felt leading up to this that Ilia was just blowing smoke; he’s the smaller guy in the featherweight division saying he’s gonna KO a guy in Max Holloway who’s never been finished by KO and has ate big shots from the likes of Porier, Gaethje, and Mcgregor… At this point in time I have zero interest in a Volkanovski rematch.. At this time I would only be interested in seeing a Topuria vs Diego Lopez at featherweight and that’s it, If not Lopez I want Topuria to just go up and fight Islam because it’s my opinion I think he puts Islams lights out in the 1st or 2nd round. I thought Max was going to win this fight but after tonight there is little doubt Topuria can be a double champ for a long time. Topuria has the ground game to keep the fight on the feet, he has the submission threat, and the dude has freakish Alex Periera level power in the striking. If Diego Lopez can’t pull a victory over him then I doubt anybody in featherweight stands a chance, the boxing was so tight it put even Max Holloway to sleep.
I love both but Topuria fought better fighters while Alex was given easier fights and non-wrestlers. Plus he knocked 2 guys who rarely ever get knocked or had not until now, Extra points too for pointing towards the middle and doing what he said he was gonna do
@@SimplyTheBestCSGOyeah my guy dude showed up and saved 3 cards fought 5 times in a span of a year and defended 3 times this calendar year alone. Comes in on short notice injured this isn’t even a debate. This is just a display of recency syndrome
@@User98272-ue no he’s not. And he’s not even a question for fighter of the year. 2 vs 3 this calendar year and 5 in a year so 2v5 and how many cards he save on short notice?
His word is bond. This whole time he's not really talking trash just facts lol. Dude put 15-0 and UFC world champ BEFORE he fought Volk and he went out and did just that and didn't have to edit his IG lmao
Ever understood the hate for Ilia. He is one of the if not the most complete fighter on the roster. Can’t believe Alex is still being a bit dismissive of him after this performance. He’s never getting that one back 😮
the Spanish flag is missing under Ilia's name. It seems that American TV is doing everything possible to eliminate it wherever it may be. Well, he is a Spanish citizen, get over it kids.
Why because he Ko'd fake samurai (again), Ko'd loud mouth Hill and stopped 8th ranked Khalil Rountree? Ilia just made history with his two knockouts. I like Alex, but you're the one smoking the good stuff bud.
Topuria is awesome. He is the truth. This is his time now. First man to KO Max and dethrone reigning king Volk in devastating fashion. But there's no way he deserves FOTY over Poatan's three title defenses by knockout in a single year. Were it not for Poatan's 2024 performances, I'd give it to Ilia easily, just based on who he beat and how he beat them.
With ilia and khamzat winning, usher's in the new generation. Is it sad to see but I've witnessed it before. I'm only 27 have been watching the UFC since I was 11 and I've seen many generations get replaced by the new
Ilia is great , but still isn't the best ever...why do people rush saying such a thing... see how he handles getting hurt , or coming back from a loss . Frankie Edgar , Aldo racked up title defenses and delt with adversity... Give Ilia his flowers , but also a chance to see what he can do in cleaning out his weight class...