Ilia Topuria has been told not to get too comfortable on the UFC’s pound-for-pound throne.
Topuria continued his rapid ascent toward legendary status on MMA’s biggest stage at this past Saturday’s UFC 317 pay-per-view in Las Vegas.
Concluding International Fight Week in the main event, Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight title and succeed Islam Makhachev in the weight class.
In addition to making ‘El Matador’ the latest two-division UFC champion, that result also put the pound-for-pound crown in the Spaniard’s possession for the very first time.
But Daniel Cormier thinks that might be short-lived.
Daniel Cormier justifies putting Islam Makhachev back above Ilia Topuria after one win
During a recent episode of his 3 Rounds show on YouTube, Cormier debated a number of prominent MMA topics with fellow ex-fighter Din Thomas. The revised P4P pecking order was among them, and ‘DC’ laid out his stance on Topuria’s new position at the top.
“He is the number one pound-for-pound fighter today,” Cormier said. “But if Islam is able to beat Jack Della Maddalena, it flips again and Islam goes back to number one.”
Makhachev vacated the UFC lightweight title ahead of his own pursuit of multi-weight glory. His opportunity to achieve the feat against new welterweight king Della Maddalena is expected to come later this year.
“Only because of this, (his) fighting style will then be proven to go up to the next weight class,” Cormier added. “Islam will have done everything Topuria has done at a heavier weight. Four title defenses at 155, and then the new champion at welterweight.
“So yes, I agree, he (Topuria) is pound-for-pound number one today. But I think the moment Islam is able to win, he then goes back to pound-for-pound number one.”
Islam Makhachev’s manager dismissed Ilia Topuria’s P4P status after UFC 317
Makhachev has yet to comment on either Topuria’s lightweight crowning or ascent past him on the P4P ladder. His manager, however, has.
In a post on X, Ali Abdelaziz caused a stir by dismissing ‘El Matador’ as the rightful P4P king and insisting that number one status should still belong to his fighter.
“Not taking anything away from Ilia and he’s one of the best talents we have seen in a long time,” Abdelaziz wrote.
“I just think Islam’s 15 fight winning streak in the UFC and him finishing 9 of his last 10 fights makes him the number 1 Pound for Pound fighter.”
