At UFC 317, Ilia Topuria became considered one of the few fighters to win titles in two weight classes.
Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira in devastating fashion to assert the vacant lightweight title after committing to the division by vacating his featherweight belt.
His incredible run over the past few years has led to comparisons between Topuria’s streak and Conor McGregor’s accomplishments, where he held two belts concurrently for the primary time in UFC history.
While ‘El Matador’ has already moved on to his next goal with Topuria seeking to settle his feud with Paddy Pimblett, a UFC legend believes that the promotion made a mistake during his ascent which might’ve allowed him to do something that hasn’t been done before.
Chael Sonnen says the UFC made a mistake in not allowing Ilia Topuria to win the BMF title at UFC 308
In a recent episode of ESPN MMA’s ‘Good Guy / Bad Guy’, Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen reflected on UFC 317 where Ilia Topuria became the lightweight champion.
‘El Matador’ becoming a two-time champ while remaining undefeated is incredibly impressive but Sonnen believes that the UFC made an error during his rise.
At UFC 308, Topuria defended his featherweight title against Max Holloway, stopping ‘Blessed’ within the third round to retain the belt.
Holloway entered the fight because the BMF champion, having produced considered one of the largest wins of his profession when he knocked out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
Sonnen believes that Topuria must have been eligible to win the BMF belt, claiming it might change the conversation around him if he held three belts immediately.
“There was a mistake made and the error was made to place Ilia in there with the reigning BMF champion and never to place up the belt. That son of a b—- must have three belts immediately and we’re having a completely different talk immediately if he does. The marketing and the posters are totally different if we had that, but we gotta follow it to a tee. The belt’s either up or it’s not.
“The way in which the story gets told about Max, everybody likes Max and respects Max and we know the way great he was, there’s more to it. He was the reigning BMF champion. Ilia Topuria must have two over his shoulder and one around his waist and I actually do think that that was an error.”
Ilia Topuria has secured a special accolade following UFC 317
While he wasn’t capable of win a 3rd title this past weekend, Ilia Topuria’s knockout win has seen him secure a special accolade as an alternative.
The undefeated star now sits at the highest of the pound-for-pound rankings following UFC 317 on January 28.
‘El Matador’ has unseated former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev from the highest spot, though that might change if Makhachev is capable of win the welterweight title following his decision to maneuver up.
Considering his recent run of performances, it’s hard to argue that Topuria isn’t deserving of the highest spot.