Ilia Topuria not only enters UFC 308 Fight Week as the undefeated and undisputed champion of the featherweight division but as one of the fastest-growing superstars in the UFC.
As fans countdown to what is expected to be a ‘Fight of the Year’ contender against Max Holloway this coming weekend, we’re looking back at when ‘El Matador’ was almost knocked out cold just four fights into his fledgling UFC career.
Ilia Topuria survived scary knockdown to score one of the best KOs of the year
As soon as Ilia Topuria entered the UFC back in 2020, fans knew all too well that ‘El Matador’ would go on to deliver some serious damage in the featherweight division.
However, it wasn’t until 2022 and a lightweight clash with England’s own Jai Herbert that we truly understood just how durable and dangerous Topuria could be in the octagon.
Only 40 seconds into that scrap at UFC London, Herbert would throw a right hand and just as Topuria looked to counter, was struck with a picture-perfect left high kick that spun his head and sent him crashing to the canvas.
“That was huge, how tough is Topuria?!” screamed commentator John Gooden, with former lightweight contender Paul Felder noting in that moment, Topuria learned the danger of overlooking his opponent’s striking.
“This is one of those cases where you might have underestimated your opponent a little bit, look at that headkick – I just saw the replay in our monitor – unbelievable, unbelievable kick to the head and credit to Topuria for being able to eat that.”
Herbert was then able to wobble Topuria throughout the rest of the first round, even knocking out the Spanish-Georgian sensation’s mouthpiece a couple of times; however, it wouldn’t be long before Topuria got his revenge.
“That was the hardest [strike] I ever took in my experience inside the cage,” Topuria acknowledged in a later interview with CBS Sports’ Shakiel Mahjouri.
“I didn’t see that kick coming, you know… I have to give Jai his credit, he hit me with a really good headkick and it’s not easy to connect [that] with me. He did a great job, but I was reborn in that fight.”
‘Reborn’ he indeed was. As the pair came out for the second round, the O2 Arena was expecting Herbert to put on the pressure and start where he left off in the first – yet no one could have foreseen what came next.
With one of the most brutal and beautiful one-punch knockouts in recent years, Ilia Topuria would flatline Herbert just 60 seconds into the second round; a finish that rightly earned him the $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Short notice up a weight class, 8-inch reach disadvantage, and fighting in his opponent’s home territory.
Despite all the disadvantages, Topuria eats Herbert’s best shots and knocks him out cold
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— MMABoxingCasual
(@TopuriaLand) June 5, 2024
“Oh, my word! Unbelievable knockout by Topuria – The O2 can’t believe what’s just happened! Well, he flipped the script tonight,” stated an astonished Gooden, with the entire arena eerily quiet after the flush KO.
“That’s why the odds don’t change when this man is in the octagon. Even if he has had a rough first round, he has got dynamite in his hands, and you talk about these Georgians; the toughness and durability is unbelievable!”
Ilia Topuria would return to the octagon just a few months later, choking out submission specialist Bryce Mitchell before battering Josh Emmett in a dominant UD win to set up the title fight with Alexander Volkanovski… And we all remember how that one went.
Can ‘El Matador’ cement his status as one of the most dangerous strikers on the entire UFC roster with another vicious knockout win?
UFC 308: Topuria vs Holloway goes down October 26 live from the Etihad Arena in the UAE.
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