Ilia Topuria offers honest critique of Yair Rodriguez's fighting style, names Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway as "smartest guys" he's faced
Ilia Topuria shared his perspective on Yair Rodriguez's fighting style. Rodriguez, known for his kick-heavy and dynamic striking game, is one of the most entertaining fighters in the UFC. Although his striking is one of the most aesthetic in the UFC and has generally proven effective, he has encountered challenges against the most elite competitors.
During his recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Topuria shared his honest opinion of the Mexican's fighting style, stating:
"I'm not a big fan of him. He's the type of guy where you don't even need to take him down. He goes to the ground by himself. He is very spectacular in the way he fights and the striking and the kicks he throws and all that. I'm not a big fan of him."
Topuria's featherweight title fight wins over divisional greats Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway mark the biggest competitive achievements of his professional MMA career thus far.
Speaking about their competitive abilities and fight IQ, Topuria said:
"I'm a fan of Volk and Max Holloway. Actually, they were the smartest guys that I ever faced inside the octagon. I felt that they had that fight IQ, they know how to fight."
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below:
When Yair Rodrigues blasted Ilia Topuria during media interaction
The rivalry between Ilia Topuria and Yair Rodriguez has continued to simmer for a few years, fueled by their back-and-forth altercations on social media.
Rodriguez has appeared to harbor a strong dislike for Topuria, as witnessed during the UFC Mexico City media day interaction in February 2024. Rodriguez fired shots at Topuria, who had recently captured the featherweight title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski.
When asked if he would like to face Topuria, Rodriguez said:
"I would love to f* him up. I don't want to fight him, I want to f* him up. There is a big differecne in that. Let's make that very clear. And anywhere I f* see him I will f* him up. F* this b*. I don't f* like him."
Explaining the origin of their rivalry, he added:
"He was just talking sh* about me and I just made fun of him on social media. And he started saying all kinds of sh*. So I kept firing back. That's it."
Check out Yair Rodriguez's comments below (3:30):
Despite the rivalry, the probability of Topuria and Rodriguez fighting each other seems low at the moment. While Rodriguez recently got back into the win column with a win over Bellator legend Patricio Pitbull at UFC 314, Topuria vacated the featherweight title and is pursuing a second championship belt at lightweight.