Demetrious Johnson: 'Unicorn' Ilia Topuria can retire undefeated like Khabib Nurmagomedov
Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) became the first undefeated fighter to win UFC belts in two divisions when he knocked out Charles Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) to claim the lightweight title in Saturday's UFC 317 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Topuria has lofty aspirations of potentially going after a third UFC title if Islam Makhachev is able to become welterweight champion. With Topuria's goals, Johnson doesn't see him competing for too much longer and retiring on top.
"I think he's a unicorn," Johnson said of Topuria on "The Mighty Guru Show." "I think you're going to see him three or four more times, maybe five max, and he's going to disappear. He's like, 'I'm done.' Undefeated, he could be a potential Khabib, someone who just leaves the sport. It's like, 'I'm done, don't need to prove anything. I won the belt at '45, '55,' and sh*t, potentially he can fight at 170 too."
Johnson campaigned for Arman Tsarukyan to get the next title shot against Topuria and wants to see the pair headline a marquee pay-per-view.
"I think the next fight should be Arman Tsarukyan, who's healthy," Johnson said. "Ilia Topuria didn't take a lot of damage. So they could run this fight – November, December at MSG. Now that Jon Jones is retired, you're not going to have Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall. They can do Tsarukyan vs. Ilia Topuria at MSG, banger f*cking fight."
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