Ilia Topuria's lightweight plans win over Kamaru Usman: "When you have that aura of invincibility"
Kamaru Usman recently weighed in on Ilia Topuria's plans to move up to lightweight after conquering the featherweight division. The reigning featherweight champion made his intentions known that he wants to fight Islam Makhachev and is even willing to prove himself at 155 pounds in order to earn that.
'El Matador' has had an incredible 2024 and was strongly considered for Fighter of the Year, which ended up going to Alex Pereira at the World MMA Awards. Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to become the new featherweight champion this past February. He then followed that up by becoming the first fighter to knock out Max Holloway and successfully retained his title at UFC 308.
The 27-year-old recently sent the MMA community into a frenzy as he expressed interest in moving up to lightweight and taking on top contender Charles Oliveira.
During the latest episode of his Pound 4 Pound podcast, Usman told co-host Henry Cejudo that Topuria has won him over with his lightweight aspirations and mentioned that he has made a believer out of him due to his confidence and aura:
"[Topuria] saying, 'Go ahead and give me Charles Oliveira'...When you have that aura of invincibility, there's just something about that. I don't care who it is. Ilia Topuria has that right now. He does not care. 'Put up Conor [McGregor], I'll put him to sleep...Charles Oliveira, I'll put him to sleep...Islam [Makhachev], I'll put him to sleep'. He has that conviction. Him calling for a fight like this, I think [UFC] give him what he wants."
Check out Kamaru Usman's comments about Ilia Topuria below:
Henry Cejudo backs Kamaru Usman's stance regarding Ilia Topuria fighting Charles Oliveira
Kamaru Usman wasn't the only fighter that was won over by Ilia Topuria, Henry Cejudo also backed his co-host's stance.
During the aforementioned clip, Cejudo mentioned that Topuria's knockout wins over two of the greatest fighters in his division should be enough to grant him an opportunity of a title eliminator against Charles Oliveira.
"Simple fact that [Topuria] said, 'Give me the No.1 contender. I want Islam Makhachev'. If I'm Dana White, I am saying, 'Let's sign that damn contract.'"
Check out the full episode of Pound 4 Pound featuring the full discussion on Ilia Topuria below (5:25):