Undefeated in 14 fights. The reigning UFC champion has named a “real world” fighter as his next opponent.
In the main event of UFC Fight Night: Emmett vs. Toppuria, unbeaten undefeated Ilya Toppuria (26, Georgia) defeated Josh Emmett (38, USA)메이저놀이터 via unanimous decision (50-44, 50-42, 49-45) in a featherweight (65.8 kg) bout at the BistarMemorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida (USA).
It was a dominant performance, with one judge scoring it a whopping eight points. Topuria utilized his jab and leg kicks to overwhelm Emmett. When Emmett fought back wildly, he would either slip to the side and land a counter attack, or mix in a takedown to make sure he couldn’t do anything.
Topuria finally took control with 12 seconds left in the second round when he landed a right-handed counter to Emmett’s left hook, knocking him down. He then dived to the ground and unleashed a barrage of ground-and-pound. Emmett survived, but the damage was done.
The fourth round was the most dominant. Topuria knocked Emmett down with a left hook. After surviving a barrage of ground punches, Emmett managed to get to his feet and fight back, only to be knocked down again by a right hand counter. Topuria followed up with a flurry of punches from top position, but Emmett barely survived.
At the start of the fifth round, Emmett came forward with a wild double hook for the final time. Topuria was momentarily flustered, but he quickly scored a takedown to break Emmett’s offense. Finally, after five rounds, Topuria won a unanimous decision.
“I expected to knock Emmett out in the first round,” Tofuria said in his post-fight interview. But he was really tough,” he said, praising his opponent.
“Without a doubt, I’m the next challenger,” he said, pointing to UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (34, Australia) as his next opponent.
Volkanovski, who has declared a challenge for the UFC featherweight title, and interim champion Yair Rodriguez (30, Mexico) will fight for the unified title at UFC 290 on July 10.
Of the two, it’s champion Volkanovski that Topuria wants to face. “I want Volkanovski to defend his title (against Rodriguez) and then I want to show him and the world that his world comes crashing down and my world starts,” he proclaimed.
The win was Topuria’s sixth straight in the UFC and improved his career record to 14-0.