UFC on ABC 5: Ilia Topuria gains impressive endorsement from former champion Kamaru Usman
Ilia Topuria listens calmly as a reporter begins a question about his next fight by praising the skills of his opponent Saturday, Josh Emmett. Emmett is ranked fifth at featherweight in what is probably the UFC's deepest division and one that soon will include the bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling.
Emmett is looking to right the ship after a disheartening loss to Yair Rodriguez in February in the co-main event of UFC 284 for the interim featherweight title. Prior to that fourth-round submission loss by triangle choke, Emmett had run roughshod through the division and had won five in a row and seven of eight.
Emmett will meet Topuria on Saturday at VyStar Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, in the main event of UFC on ABC 5.
Topuria didn't really want to hear it. Asked what he expected from Emmett, Topuria was almost disdainful.
"In reality, I don't expect anything from him," Topuria told Yahoo Sports. "It's going to be like, as always, I'm going to finish him like I did with every other opponent. Everyone thinks it's going to be a tough matchup for me because he has that right hand or, I don't know, power in his punches, but I'm going to finish him in the first round."
He said the words matter of factly, without emotion and it didn't sound like he was trying to be audacious. Instead, he sounded like this was something he believed to his core.
He has reason, of course, to feel that way. He's 13-0 with 12 finishes in his MMA career, which began when he was 15 and his family moved from Georgia to Spain. He had a background as a Greco-Roman wrestler, but Greco-Roman wasn't big in Spain, so he found MMA and, he said, loved it almost instantly.
He's ranked ninth at featherweight and expecting to earn a title shot with what would be an extraordinarily impressive win if he can back up his bold words and finish Emmett in the first.
Topuria earned the respect of Kamaru Usman, the former UFC welterweight champion and ex-pound-for-pound MMA king who trained with him briefly in Florida. Usman isn't prone to hyperbole and has exceedingly high standards, so it meant something when he praised Topuria.
"I'm impressed by his mindset and how he approaches his training," said Usman, who sparred briefly with Topuria. "You watch him come in and you see he handles his business the right way. He's quiet. He comes in, he gets his work done and gives the effort to do it in the best way possible. You can tell he's striving to be the best and he looks like a championship-caliber kind of guy. He's living the life. He's quiet, does his work and he leaves. The kid's the real deal.
"There are some kids you see, guys like Khamzat Chimaev, who seem like they've got it all. He'll come in and make a lot of noise. And everyone's like, 'Oh yeah, that guy's unstoppable. He's got it all.' This kid's not like that. He doesn't make a lot of noise. But when he fights, he f***ing fights."
Topuria said the secret of his success is simple: hard work. And he feels it's left him on the precipice of a title opportunity.
Champion Alex Volkanovski will meet Rodriguez, the interim champion, in the main event of UFC 290 on July 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Topuria said he expects to get the winner after defeating Emmett and said he'll be in Vegas to watch.
He said he favored Volkanovski to win and said he'd root for Volkanovski because he felt it would benefit him if Volkanovski were to be the champion he faced.
"When I become the champion, I don't want there to be any questions or any doubts," Topuria said. "Volkanovski has held the title for so long and he's made so many defenses. That's why I want to face him. If I beat him, there can be no doubts. He's the guy to beat in this division, and so he's the one I want to beat."
It's one thing to talk about beating a contender like Emmett, let alone someone like Volkanovski, and it's another thing entirely to do it.
But Usman's endorsement goes a long way. And Usman said coach Henri Hooft is high on him as well.
"He's not a prima donna in any way and when they need him to spar someone, he gets in there and does his job," Usman said. "He doesn't go, 'Oh, I want to spar this guy, not that guy.' He just, as I said, does his work. He's a straight arrow, man. Henri really likes the guy a lot. That says a lot. Henri's been around this sport a long, long time and Henri just doesn't like anybody. Henri likes the way he carries himself and he impressed me, too. The kid, I believe, is legit."
