"He knocked out 3 of my teammates” - Gilbert Burns shares terrifying details of Ilia Topuria in the training room while discussing UFC 298
Ilia Topuria's reign as the featherweight champion of the world could last for a long time, given Gilbert Burns' recent insight into the raw knockout power of the Spaniard.
'El Matador' realized his destiny against Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 298, where he handed 'The Great' his first career defeat at 145 pounds via second-round KO.
Topuria has knocked out opponents at both featherweight and lightweight, and according to Burns, he left three of the Brazilian's training partners unconscious while training at KillCliff MMA gym last year.
'Durinho' is preparing to face Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 299 on Mar. 9 and was interviewed by Luke Thomas ahead of his fight. Having predicted that the Spaniard would defeat Volkanovski, Burns was asked to share his thoughts on the result and said this:
"This guy came to the gym, he did half of his [training] camp against Josh Emmett here. He knocked out three of my teammates. Knocked OUT, not down, OUT. With the big gloves. With the big gloves. I'm going to say that one more time, with the big gloves. Out."
He continued:
"I see him grappling, he's not a big dude. He's not a tall dude. But he's solid... Topuria was in the middle with a high-level wrestler from Dagestan, and [Topuria] is so strong and [has] good defense. Then he took the guy down, a Dagestani wrestler. That's when I'm like, 'This guy can do it all.'"
Watch Burns' breakdown of Ilia Topuria's potential below from 17:15:
Ilia Topuria calls out Sean O'Malley
Ilia Topuria was called out by bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley following the Spaniard's UFC 298 title victory over Alexander Volkanovski.
'El Matador' did not initially appear interested in the callout but has now issued his own callout of 'Sugar' online.
Having stated after his title victory that he wants to face new challenges in the division instead of perennial contenders such as Brian Ortega, the idea of facing O'Malley may be more enticing for Topuria than the current crop of featherweights.
Ahead of the bantamweight champion's first title defense against Marlon Vera at UFC 299 on Mar. 9, he was called out by the Spaniard on X, who wrote this:
"Me vs. Suga. Who wants to see it?"
See Ilia Topuria's post below: