Ilia Topuria started out his career as a grappler, but never admired Khabib Nurmagomedov’s style.
The UFC lightweight champion was asked who are his top five greatest fighters of all time, and he mentioned Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones. Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) dismissed Demetrious Johnson when he was suggested to him, and had a different response when Nurmagomedov’s name was brought up.
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No one had an answer for the grappling prowess of Nurmagomedov, who retired as an undefeated lightweight champion with three title defenses in submission finishes over Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje.
“He wasn’t fun to watch until his last two fights,” Topuria told Adin Ross of Nurmagomedov during a live stream on Kick. “And what made him fun to watch was that he was undefeated and the fact that there’s going to be someone that was going to beat him. But the reality was, I was never a fan of his fight style – never.”
Topuria, who claimed the vacant title with a knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, is expected to make his first lightweight title defense against interim champion Gaethje.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ilia Topuria was ‘never a fan’ of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fight style
