"He's a firecracker" - T.J. Dillashaw breaks down how he would fight "best fighter in the UFC" Ilia Topuria in a hypothetical clash
Ilia Topuria was recently discussed by a former champion in the promotion who got into the finer details of how a conceptual contest with the reigning featherweight champ could play out. This took place on a recent episode of JAXXON PODCAST where T.J. Dillashaw helped recap UFC 310 with host 'Rampage' Jackson.
'Ilia Topuria boxing' and 'Ilia Topuria skills' are two often googled phrases these days with the unbeaten KO artist captivating the attention of many including a former multi-time UFC bantamweight champion in Dillashaw.
T.J. Dillashaw even went as far as to say that Topuria is a superior fighter to UFC heavyweight Jon Jones, not off of their resumes but going off of a purely combative skillset. When asked by the former UFC light heavyweight champion about how the former kingpin of 135 pounds would approach the current 145-pound titleholder in a hypothetical matchup, Dillashaw said:
"I think Topuria's the best fighter in the UFC right now... It'd be a tough fight, dude. He's a firecracker. I would have to use what I was hoping [Max] Holloway was going to do is use some more angles, right. Never stand in front of the guy, he's fast, his boxing's crisp. I would try to get outside his shoulders to try to switch my stances up."
He added:
"Fight him orthodox and southpaw. I would definitely be using my kicks a lot more. Yeah, he can block kicks but it keeps him at a further distance, right, setting up my kicks. Yeah, I would definitely try to wrestle with him. I would say his striking's more dangerous than his grappling but his grappling's great as well."
Check Dillashaw's assessment of a hypothetical clash with Topuria [25:56] below:
Ilia Topuria's claim for being the 2024 Fighter of the Year
Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira are the two predominant names that people are dicsussing in terms of who the most prolific mixed martial artist has been this calendar year. While Pereira won the distinction officially at the 2024 World MMA Awards, there are many who can justifiably advocate for Topuria in this conversation.
The 27-year-old had a pair of prizefights this calendar year but he sent a massive ripple effect through the UFC landscape in those two bouts. Ilia Topuria cemented himself as the featherweight champion by finishing one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the game Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 via second round knockout.
'El Matador' also would defend the strap this year and become the first fighter to knock out Max Holloway in the process. This third round knockout win for Topuria transpired at UFC 308. The Georgian-Spanish combatant is also eyeing a lightweight move for 2025 which means Topuria might only just be scratching the surface of his potential.