Light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira was on the cusp of receiving the fighter of they year title, but according to veteran fighter Matt Brown, Ilia Topuria is more deserving.
Topuria stunned fans on Saturday night at UFC 308, where he defended his title against BMF titleholder Max Holloway. The fighter bout was the fighter’s first title defense after defeating Alexander Volkanovski for the title. Although Pereira has more title defenses under his belt, Veteran Matt Brown believes that Topuria’s cumulative win over the two top featherweight fighters has solidified him as a top fighter over the likes of Pereira.
“Alex didn’t knock out three pound-for-pound greats. Ilia knocked out two pound-for-pound greats,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “As great as those guys were that Alex fought, they weren’t Holloway or Volkanovski.
“I don’t think anybody expected anybody on this planet to do what Ilia did. If Max and Volk had fought 170-pounder guys, I don’t think they would expected for both of them to get knocked out. As impressive as Alex was … this is one of those where it’s too bad we can’t have two Fighter of the Year awards, because they both deserve it. You don’t want to take a damn thing away from Alex.”
Topuria became the first to score a TKO win over Holloway and gained some respect in the eyes of Brown. Pereira, on the other hand, has successfully defended his title against Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka and Khalil Rountree this year alone. His successive wins and skillset guarantee him a spot at the top, but Brown believes he can measure up to Topuria.
“I don’t think you can compare to that,” Brown explained. “I’m all on the Ilia train for Fighter of the Year. Again, I wish we could give something to Alex. What he did was remarkable but it wasn’t Max Holloway and Volkanovski. If Alex did that to Jon Jones, we’d be like OK, you go it, buddy. That wasn’t available to him. Alex beat the guys that were available. Ilia beat two of the best legends, career winners in the history of this sport. Knocked them out. Max Holloway does not get knocked out. Nobody knocks out Max Holloway.”
“You’ve got to give it Ilia. That debate’s pretty well settled. I think most people are going to be on that train.”
Brown was impressed by Topuria’s performance at the UFC 308. He already had his money on “El Matador” but was impressed at the skill and speed he implemented to takedown his opponent. Brown admitted he expected the champ to emerge victorious but not by knockout
“That was what I said leading into this fight — what Ilia’s going to have to do at some point is land that fight-changing shot,” Brown said. “I knew he landed the fight-changing shot when he hurt Max. I thought for sure Max was going to come back though. And, I thought, OK, there’s that fight-changing shot. It’s really going to be Ilia beating up Max now for the next at least round or two, but Max is going to stick around.
“I was just so impressed with how Ilia took his time, placed his shots so well, just some of the best boxing we’ve seen in MMA. The way that he strategizes everything so well, keeps himself in such good position all the time.”
The Fighter of the Year award is a prestigious title for, many fighters. However, Brown reveals it should go to a fighter who has managed to takedown the all-time greats of featherweight. He says this will be the first of many more accomplishments for Topuria as he sees the fighter as a formidable force to be reckoned with in the division.
“That’s what makes Ilia so special,” Brown said. “He’s such a good boxer, but those other little things that funnel you into his boxing. That’s some very high-level stuff right there that really gets my blood pumping to watch.
“I think he’s got a lock for Fighter of the Year this year. He’s got a long reign ahead of him. He’s still got a long way to go to be up there with the [Georges St-Pierre’s] and Anderson Silva’s. However, he’s right on that path.”
