Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

‘I Will Submit Him’ – Ilia Topuria Shares His Thought On His Potential Next Fight

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ilia Topuria is one of the best fighters in the UFC today. He is the current featherweight champion and is flawless with an undefeated record so far in his career. Topuria ranks third in pound-for-pound rankings in the UFC, only behind Islam Makhachev and Alex Pereira. He is 16-0-0 so far in his career and has taken down some of the best fighters of all time. This list includes the likes of Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. Both the fighters were knocked out by Topuria’s devasting power and it took the UFC world by surprise.

Topuria has quickly become an unstoppable force in the UFC. Any mistake against him can be costly and we’re not just talking about his striking skills. Topuria is also extremely skilled at the ground and can put a fighter to sleep by making them tap out. He’s won 6 of his 16 fights via knockouts or technical knockouts and 2 via decisions. The rest of his wins have all come from submissions. While he only has one win via submission since he arrived in the UFC, all of his previous bouts, except one, were won by making his opponents tap out.

When Topuria took out Volkanovski for the featherweight title, we were all in shock. However, there were still some questions about if he could win against Holloway. Holloway is one of the best UFC fighters we’ve ever seen and is widely known as the best boxer in UFC. He is known for his intense passion and energy when he’s in the octagon and he showboating is something else.

Only this time, when Topuria fought Holloway, he pointed at the ground in the middle of the octagon. Showing that he wanted to exchange blows for the first 10 seconds of the fight. Holloway declined and when Topuria knocked him out, it left all the fighters and the fans in utter disbelief.

To whom was the message “I will submit him,” intended for?

Ilia Topuria sat down FOX Sports reporter and about talked about why he does not want to fight Alexander Volkanovski again. He said “I don’t want to do it again because I like Volk, and I know what’s going to happen if we face each other again.”

Reporter then asks if the fight will be have a similar result like last time and Topuria replies with “Of course it’s the same thing… I represent the new generation of mixed martial arts and I bring a different type of game that he (Volkanovksi) is not used to. So I know what’s gonna happen.” Topuria continues “Maybe next time, instead of knocking him out, I will submit him. So maybe I can change that to have different types of clips.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MMA Pros Pick (@mma.pros.pick)

Who may Ilia Topuria fight next?

Ilia talked to a reporter about he may want to fight next. He wants to fight with Alexander Volkanovski again. Only this time to make Volk submit than to be knocked out, as claimed by Topuria himself.

Islam, if I want to, I can finish you.if I want to, I can knock you out. I'll make it look easy. Se you soon 😉
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) January 19, 2025

If Topuria does not get the rematch, he also talked about moving to lightweight and possibly fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight divisional title. Many fans have been wanting the fight between Islam and Topuria for months. They also believe that Topuria has what it takes to take down Makhachev for good.

Also Read: Dana White says there’ll be a fight that nobody will see it coming!

Alexander Volkanovksi

Ilia Topuria

UFC

Eric Divakaran

nba

nfl

mma

I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.