Former UFC champ Eddie Alvarez sees GOAT potential in Ilia Topuria after 'flawless' run

USA Today

15 hours ago

Eddie Alvarez has been around MMA to see the best of the best come and go. He's shared the ring, cage or octagon with many of them, especially in the lightweight division, where he held both UFC and Bellator titles.
Alvarez (30-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) knows what a top-tier fighter at his weight class looks like. The praise for newly crowned undefeated UFC champion Ilia Topuria has seemingly been endless since he knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 this past month to make history, and Alvarez added to the parade.
"One thing about Topuria that he's excellent at is his positioning and his balance – it's like flawless," Alvarez told MMA Junkie. "They're not the same, but if you wanted to learn how to box you would watch Oscar De La Hoya back in the day, because he was so perfect. If you want to teach someone how to watch, it's like watch Oscar De La Hoya in his prime.
"Topuria has perfect weight distribution, keeps his head back and keeps a 60/40 split with weight distribution on his feet, stays tight and stays angled enough to where you don't have a target. It's really nice. If you want to break down fights or learn how to fight, watch a guy like that because he doesn't make a lot of mistakes."
Not only has Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) gone unbeaten in his rise to capturing belts in two UFC weight classes, but his past three fights have been the stuff of legends. He knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to capture the featherweight title, became the first to knock out Max Holloway in his first and only 145-pound defense before vacating, then came up a weight and halted future UFC Hall of Famer Oliveira inside three minutes to take 155-pound gold.
Winning against that caliber of opponent is difficult in itself, but doing it with the style Topuria is what truly grabs Alvarez's attention.
"How hard is it just to beat those three guys in a row?," Alvarez said. "Let's say he got three decisions against those guys. That would go down as, 'Damn, you beat three of the best guys in the world consecutively.' To put them away? To eliminate them? A flawless victory like that, each of them? Special.
"I feel like he still has a lot of life in him. I know he wants to be done by 30, but everyone wants to be done by 30. I think I said that, too. He's got another good five years in him. Arguably right now with this run, if he stays on the same path, we could be looking at an all-time great. We'll see how the next five go."
With multiple options on the table for Topuria's first title defense after UFC 317, Alvarez casted his vote for a matchup with Justin Gaethje over Paddy Pimblett or Arman Tsarukyan.
"Selfishly I want Justin," Alvarez said. "He's a fan-favorite of mine, just unbiased watching MMA, I want to see a Justin Gaethje fight before any other fight. Just because of the way he fights. This matchup for Justin, I'd want Justin to be a little bit more calculated and a little bit less reckless abandonment against a guy this dangerous."
To hear more from Alvarez, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.