American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez praises Ilia Topria’s accomplishments.
Topria put his featherweight title on the line last Saturday when he faced Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 308 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. “El Matador” became the first fighter to knock out Holloway, who previously called himself “the best boxer in the UFC.”
After winning the title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February of this year and defending the strap against Holloway, Topuria is now in the “Fighter of the Year” conversation. . The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard defeated ‘The Great’ to win the title and has since been in the hunt for a future double championship with Islam Makhachev.
Considering Topuria finished Holloway, it doesn’t seem too far off for him to face Makhachev in the near future. Regarding a potential matchup between the two, Mendez, one of Makhachev’s main coaches, rated Topria as the best boxer in mixed martial arts. Mendez admits that it would be unwise for Makhachev to engage Topuria on the feet, but says the same applies to wrestling’s “El Matador.”
“[Ilia’s] I believe I boxed the best, not just in one division, but in the entire division, in all divisions,” Mendez recently told Submission Radio. “So, it would be a foolish area for me to try to fight boxing for boxing’s sake. It’s not a wise move. It’s like Ilia deciding to submit to Islam for the sake of submitting. That’s not a smart move for him either. So it’s all about strategy and how you approach it.”
Topria has recently made a name for himself as a knockout artist, but the champion only recorded one KO win and seven submission wins before joining the UFC. Topria also showed off his grappling skills at UFC 308, securing both takedowns in his win over Holloway last Saturday. Mendez was impressed with Topuria’s wrestling, but doesn’t believe “El Matador” can prove himself on the ground against the lightweight champion.
“What impressed me was that [Topuria’s wrestling]. But whether he can work with Islam on the ground, I have to say no,” Mendez said. “From what I’ve seen with everyone…and the only one who really did the most to him was Khabib. And at the end of the day, the more you wrestle with Islam, the worse it gets. .”
