Ilia Topuria doesn’t see Khabib Nurmagomedov as a GOAT contender.
The Spanish star currently occupies the UFC throne that Nurmagomedov sat on through three successful defenses until his retirement in 2020.
Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last June to follow within the Brazilian and Islam Makhachev’s footsteps by succeeding ‘The Eagle’ at 155 kilos.
But ‘El Matador’ seemingly doesn’t look back on the legend’s time at the highest of the division too fondly.
- LATEST NEWS: UFC to lose eight-figure sum by staging White House event Dana White guarantees shall be ‘special’
Ilia Topuria says Khabib Nurmagomedov was not ‘fun to look at’
Nurmagomedov’s greatness was among the many topics discussed by Topuria during a recent appearance on Adin Ross’ Kick stream.
The Spaniard was honest along with his assessment of ‘The Eagle’, admitting he never enjoyed watching the Dagestani’s fights contained in the Octagon.
In truth, Topuria thinks people only tuned in to Nurmagomedov’s outings as a consequence of the possibility he might lose his ‘0’.
“(Nurmagomedov) wasn’t fun to look at until his last two fights,” Topuria said.
“What made him fun to look at was that he was undefeated and the incontrovertible fact that there was going to be any individual who was going to beat him.
“But the truth was, I never was fan of his fight style,” he added.
The Spaniard went on to suggest that Nurmagomedov isn’t considered one of the five best fighters of all time.
- LATEST NEWS: Jake Paul mocks Ilia Topuria by labeling his UFC pay ‘NFL rookie’ money during heated phone call
Ilia Topuria has the possibility to turn out to be a UFC GOAT contender
While he believes Nurmagomedov fell wanting rivaling the likes of Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre for GOAT status, Topuria could have the chance to enter the combination.
The Dagestani fought exclusively at lightweight, cementing his status as that division’s consensus best up until his protege Islam Makhachev enjoyed a reign that put him in contention.
Topuria, meanwhile, has made it clear that he favors individual accolades over a lengthy title reign. He moved as much as lightweight after one defense at featherweight, and he has already been discussing one other switch.
He desires to do something no other fighter has acheived contained in the Octagon. Topuria is targeting three-weight UFC title glory and hopes to challenge Makhachev at 170 kilos to make that occur.
Should he turn out to be the primary triple champion in UFC history, ‘El Matador’ would undoubtedly have a spot within the GOAT discussion.