- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,264,697
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - MAY 08: Ilia Topuria looks on prior to the UFC Freedom 250 press conference at Prudential Center on May 08, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Ilia Topuria has gone from downplaying a potential fight with lightweight No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan to fantasizing about how it will end.
It’s hard to remember, but there was a point one year ago where Topuria said he’d rather give up his belt than defend it against Tsarukyan, who at the time was considered the toughest opponent with the least amount of popularity in the division. Over the last twelve months, though, Topuria has become impossible to ignore. He’s on TikTok, he’s on Instagram, he’s in Real American Freestyle, he’s on random grappling events. He’s getting kicked off planes, he’s getting into near brawls all over the place.
He’s everywhere but in the UFC cage, because he wants to fight for the title if he’s in the UFC cage. Tsarukyan will play backup for the Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje White House fight, and Topuria isn’t worried about potentially fighting the Armenian fighter.
“The fight with Arman is going to be a good fight,” Topuria admitted to Vic Blends. “The thing is that they used to take a lot of confidence because they fight with fighters that, his last fight was against Dan Hooker. He has 20 losses in his professional career. It’s like, bro, you never ever in your entire life faced someone like me. I’m going to embarrass you in front of everyone.”
“With him, he thinks that he’s tough, he thinks that his wrestling is I don’t know what. He feels that he’s an Olympic champion. Anyway, if he’s the best in the world in wrestling, when it comes to the Octagon, bro? I’m the king. In there, I’m the king. I do with you whatever I want to f–king do. And I told him like I’m going to break his jaw in the first round.”
Topuria laid out how he saw a potential fight with Tsarukyan going.
“He’s going to try to take me down from the beginning of the fight,” Topuria said. “And when he’s going to realize that, bro, it’s not that easy. It’s not that easy to take these legs and take me down, especially to control me on the ground. You crazy? And then he’s going to start panicking. He’s going to be panicked and then when I break his jaw, bam. In front of all his crowd, all his people, his family, who gives a f–k. Bam!”
We like this new determination from Ilia Topuria, who previously sounded like he was ready to take his win over Justin Gaethje and immediately chase Islam Makhachev to welterweight. The only thing that’s really changed over the past several months is Tsarukyan’s popularity in the sport. Now that Arman has created interest and excitement, Ilia is completely on board with a fight.
Topuria vs. Tsarukyan is definitely a fight that we need to see, hopefully by the end of 2026.
Continue reading...
