Ilia Topuria provides interesting assessment of Dagestani fighters
UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has given an interesting assessment of how Dagestani fighters perform in competitive fights.
As we know, Ilia Topuria is one of the most exciting fighters on the planet right now. He’s been able to tear through the featherweight division, which has included knockout wins over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. However, it’s clear to see that he’s hungry for more – and that means a potential venture up to lightweight to take on Islam Makhachev.
Of course, Makhachev is currently viewed as the number one pound for pound fighter in the sport. Despite that accolade, Topuria isn’t the kind of person who is going to step down from a challenge. In fact, he’s instead made it crystal clear that he believes he is capable of defeating Makhachev in a similar fashion to some of his recent victories.
Now, Topuria has given an assessment of Dagestani fighters as a whole – and they may not like it very much.
Topuria’s view on Dagestani fighters
“None of them have special cardio and stamina. The way they do it, if you fight any of them, the thing they need when they go inside the Octagon, in the first contact, they want to feel like they’ve dominated you,” Topuria said. “They start to build their confidence off that. It’s like, ‘I can dominate you, maybe you escape, and we strike again, but I feel like I’m stronger than you.’
“If they feel like in the first contact in the first round that they can’t control you and it’s very competitive, then their head goes down.,” Topuria continued. “This is what they try to do, to beat you in the early rounds, that they can dominate you, that they are stronger than you. But when they realize that it’s not like that, most of the time, they lose those kinds of fights. All of the competitive fights they lose — all of them.”
Quotes via MMA News
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
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Ilia Topuria UFC
