'Bigger than Conor McGregor': Ilia Topuria sets MMA world afire with history-making KO at UFC 317
Even Ilia Topuria's peers can't believe what the UFC's newest lightweight champion is doing. After repeatedly promising to knock out Charles Oliveira in the first round, "El Matador" did exactly that on Saturday at UFC 317, rampaging right through the former champ to capture a second divisional title and cement himself as one of the biggest stars in all of MMA.
Topuria (17-0) has now knocked out three future Hall of Famers in a row, having entered UFC 317 on a run that saw him demolish featherweight legends Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in back-to-back bouts to capture Uncrowned's 2024 Fight of the Year award. With a perfect 9-0 promotional record and a fast-growing hit-list of all-star victims, Topuria is ascending at a rate few UFC champions have before him — so perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that his latest masterclass evoked comparisons to fellow former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who rose to become the biggest star MMA had ever seen with his successful pursuit of a second divisional title in 2016.
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Check out how the MMA world reacted to Topuria's historic UFC 317 win over Oliveira below.
For full coverage of UFC 317, including live results, play-by-play and highlights of the entire Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira pay-per-view card, check out Uncrowned's UFC 317 hub.
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