Josh Emmett on what makes Ilia Topuria so good – even though he's been hit harder
Emmett (19-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) was able to withstand Topuria's striking barrage for 25 minutes en route to a unanimous decision loss in their June 2023 headliner. Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) is coming off three-straight knockouts over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and most recently Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title at UFC 317.
The former interim featherweight title challenger says that despite's Topuria's proven knockout power, he isn't the hardest hitter he's ever fought.
"He's great," Emmett told MMA Junkie of Topuria. "I did expect him to do great things just because he's so technically sound. Also, when we fought, people were asking me how hard does he hit – and yeah, of course he hits hard, but when we were fighting, I feel like I've been hit harder by people that I've fought. The thing with Ilia is his footwork is good, he's always in a really good position, he's fast, and he's very precise and accurate. So, he's not loading up 100 percent. He's landing the accuracy and the precision with the speed."
So who hit harder?
"On the regional scene when I fought Christos Giagos at lightweight, he hit really hard," Emmett responded. "Dan Ige, he can crack. He hits hard, too. So, from just a pure, getting hit with power where you're like, 'Damn, that was a hard punch,' I'd say Dan Ige."
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