Ilia Topuria Shattered Two Legends to Reach Top of MMA Mountain in 2024

December 19, 2024
2 months

If I believed in having co-fighters of the year, it would be easy to choose Alex Pereira and Ilia Topuria. But I don’t believe in splitting awards between several people. When it came to MMAfighting latest news in 2024, no one produced victories as impressive as Topuria.

Topuria took the UFC’s featherweight belt off long-reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski. Then Topuria handed Max Holloway a beating like he hadn’t received before. There were a lot of fighters who had a strong year, but few had a year like Topuria and Pereira did.

Topuria, who is still undefeated, has terrifying power and seems like he could rule the featherweight division for a long time. But there’s a chance that he may not want to remain in the weight division for long. While there is still a lot to be sorted out regarding Topuria’s future, it is fun to reflect on the year he had.

Topuria Made Quick Rise Up the Ranks

Undefeated prospects typically don’t keep their record for long in the UFC. Too many experienced veteran fighters know how to make life difficult for fighters who usually don’t see a wide range of variety on the regional scene. However, Topuria showed when he arrived at the UFC in 2020 that he had the power to hang out with anyone.

He debuted with a decision win against Youssef Zala, then rolled off four consecutive wins by finish. Topuria had a tough, five-round battle with Josh Emmett in 2023, proving he had the grit to go the distance.

Topuria established himself as the No. 1 contender to Volkanovski with the win over Emmett. He had to wait until after Volkanovski had a rematch with Makhachev before he got his shot at the belt.

Topuria Ends Volkanovski’s Long Reign

Volkanovski made his bones as a champion with how tough he was. The Australian star fought off two submission attempts from Brian Ortega to retain his crown. Volkanovski, who made five successful title defenses before fighting Topuria at UFC 298, was teased about his age before he fought the young Spanish star.

However, many MMA news websites thought Volkanovski was a live underdog against Topuria. But Topuria told everyone early in the fight that it wouldn’t favor the champion. Topuria could have backed Volkanovski against the cage in the second round before knocking him out with a few ferocious punches.

Topuria would have the opportunity to defend his belt a few months later against Max Holloway. Volkanovski clamored for a rematch, but with how dominant Topuria was during the first fight, the UFC didn’t feel the need to grant an immediate rematch.

Holloway’s Path Was Previously Blocked

Holloway likely wouldn’t have gotten another shot to fight for the featherweight belt without Topuria. Holloway previously challenged Volkanovski three times but lost all three fights. When Holloway produced the year’s knockout against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, he was vaulted to the top of the list for challengers.

It was a fight that produced some intrigue for Topuria. Holloway had fought more than 30 times professionally and had never been knocked out. However, Holloway had never fought someone who hit as hard as Topuria.

While Holloway was competitive in the early parts of the fight, he ultimately folded under the weight of Topuria’s power. Topuria improved to 15-0 with the win. While Topuria doesn’t have many wins under his belt, he has already proven that he can handle any style of fighter.

Topuria ended up dominating Bryce Mitchell, who is known for his wrestling. When Topuria had to go up against another power puncher like Emmett, he had no problem avoiding being hit with one of Emmett’s major bombs.

Pereira Had an Awesome Year as Well

It’s hard not to mention Pereira when considering such an honor. Normally, fight fans are happy if a reigning champion defends his belt twice in a year. Especially with a 37-year-old fighter like Pereira, you don’t expect the type of activity he provides for fight fans.

But when the UFC needed a main event this year, Pereira was happy to step up and defend his belt. Pereira’s last title defense of the year, a fourth-round knockout of Khalil Rountree Jr. at UFC 307, may have been his most impressive.

Rountree was the least accomplished of Pereira’s three challenges in 2024. However, Rountree wasn’t intimidated and stunned Pereira a few times. Pereira also knocked out Jamahal Hill in the first round and won a rematch with Jiří Procházka in the second round.

The only disappointment for Pereira is that we didn’t get to see Magomed Ankalaev. Ankalaev has the ground game to challenge Pereira, and it should be a fun challenge if the two men ever meet.

Should Topuria Go Up in Weight?

There seems to be a lot of pressure on the top champions in the UFC to go up in weight if they seem too dominant where they are. Topuria has already said he wants to fight at lightweight. It would be a shame if he didn’t stick around and defend at featherweight for a handful of bouts.

Topuria has power that the rest of the division will struggle to handle. Is there anything more enjoyable in sports than watching an underdog try to take down a dominant champion? Topuria has the ability to be the boogeyman.

The 2024 Boxing News MMA fighter of the year should take the opportunity to flex his muscles.

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By Dean McHugh.

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