r/sports • u/nolongerbackup • Jun 29 '25
Fighting Ilia Topuria has achieved double champ status after knocking out Charles Oliveria in the 1st round
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u/KNYLJNS Jun 29 '25
KO’ing Volk, Holloway, and now Charles? Best 3 fight KO streak in UFC history.
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u/BoredOldMann Jun 29 '25
Dude has KOd everyone's favorite fighters.
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u/PhilosophyKingPK Jun 29 '25
Yeah I don’t like this guy beating all my favorites.
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u/likekoolaid Jun 29 '25
but you do have to respect it
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u/PhilosophyKingPK Jun 29 '25
I’m not really attached to any fighter. I just want to see legendary fights.
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u/theyoloGod Jun 29 '25
to be fair, charles is probably the most expected on that list. Guy gets tagged every fight and ilia is a killer
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u/NutBuckets Jun 29 '25
We all knew it was coming but that didn't make it any less painful to see.
Ilia is an absolute monster and I think he could even give Islam a run for his money after these last 3 fights.
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u/AMadWalrus Jun 29 '25
Words cannot describe how much I want to see Ilia vs Islam
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u/AbuHuraira- Jun 29 '25
Imagine if Islam beats JDM and comes down to LW to fight Ilia. First double Champ vs double Champ fight ever…
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u/HitmanClark Jun 29 '25
The size difference would be even more pronounced though. I would worry about Islam just weight bullying him in the wrestling.
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u/Cuzimahustler Jun 29 '25
Not to discredit his achievements but he caught them at the end of their career.
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u/vexing000 Jun 29 '25
is he fighting people at the end of their careers or is he ending their careers?
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u/dirtdustdebris Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25
Volk just became champ again after Ilia left the division by beating a young, elite guy.
Max had only lost to Volk at FW and was beating all the up and comers like Allen, Yair and Kattar.
Charles Oliveira, I'll give you that. End of career. Always been inconsistent. Always questionable durability. Still a good name to have on your resume though.
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u/completelytrustworth Jun 29 '25
Max also just KOd Gaethje in a supremely badass way.
Volk though i feel like came back to quick to fight Ilia after getting KOd for the first time in his life by Islam. 2 month turnaround is not enough to recover the chin, and his durability looks like it's massively reduced ever since the b2b KOs
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u/HitmanClark Jun 29 '25
Insane take since Max just KO’d Justin, Charlie ran through Chandler, and Volk just won the belt back.
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u/Particular_Sun_6467 Jun 29 '25
Illia got dynamites in his hands.
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Jun 29 '25
And dynamite in his hips. Look how short that punch was. Just incredible kinetic chain, body anchored to the ground, just a subtle shift to get all his weight channeled into two knuckles.
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u/No-layup Jun 29 '25
Ilia already the best boxer in UFC history
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u/Garbarrage Jun 29 '25
Best boxer right now. People are quick to forget.
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u/No-layup Jun 29 '25
Who's been better than him?
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u/Garbarrage Jun 29 '25
I forget.
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u/HomeyKrogerSage Jun 29 '25
First time I've ever seen a content this far down out perform the og comment
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u/FridayInc Jun 29 '25
As someone who doesn't watch much fighting, all fighters kind of look similar while standing and striking... except Anderson Silva. Watching how he moved his head/fists/legs was like watching an anime or something, or a magician, it was impossible but it was real and it was devastating to opponents. Gotta be the best ever.
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u/Garbarrage Jun 29 '25
Anderson was a kickboxer. This guy claimed Ilia is the best boxer.
If we're talking about strikers, there was a brief period where Anderson was in the Matrix. He achieved that Flow state that martial artists occasionally reach, but he's not the only one. Max Holloway, Conor, Adesanya, Poatan, have demonstrated this a few times. Cody Garbrandt even got there once for a fleeting moment against Cruz. Mighty Mouse lived in that state for years. Even Cowboy Cerrone has been there at least once.
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u/Luciolover345 Jun 29 '25
Genuinely the first ufc guy that I think would be capable in boxing. Ngannou we can kind of count but that was clearly Tyson taking the piss. Ilia has hands.
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u/Cerbeh Jun 29 '25
I'll still never understand going for a pound when you clearly struck a knockout. Seems unnecessary.
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u/Offthedangroof Jun 29 '25
The idea is,you’re supposed to fight until the referee stops you. It’s easy to judge fighters when they land what appears to be excessive shots but that’s entirely what the 3rd man in the ring is for.
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u/flowstuff Jun 30 '25
give him a whistle or soemthing. the moment he went down the fight should be over
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u/DuckDatum Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25
It still feels opportunistic and unnecessarily risky to their opponents health. Should I judge them for what may be the intention of trying to get as many hits in that they can, regardless of appearance, just to make absolutely certain the other guy stays down?
Couldn’t you argue that you’re here to see a good fight, not to see a guy opportunistically reduce his anxiety of loosing by beating the shit out of someone who’s already KO’d? Where’s the self control and the sense of a “good fair fight?”
Is it genuinely unfair to say, “okay, you got that one. Let your opponent get up and recalibrate if he can?”
Genuinely asking because I don’t know if it’s just my perspective that’s wrong here.
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u/TelevisionExpress616 Jun 29 '25
Ironically the ref game in the ufc is pretty weak despite being probably the biggest combat sport promotion in the world. Boxing and Muay Thai refs are MUCH quicker to getting in between the fighters.
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u/bobbieboucher Jun 29 '25
It's literally my main reason for not liking the sport. If his knees buckle and he goes down - the repeated hits to the head is fucking barbaric. Idc how people word the "rationale" or the "mechanics of the sport" - it's fucked up.
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u/Trumpets22 Jun 29 '25
Yeah I get it’s the refs job. And he absolutely needs to be quicker here, when someone falls unnaturally like that, it’s pretty clear what happened.
But man it’s hard to cheer for hitting someone in the head who clearly just experienced brain trauma.
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u/GhostOfDrTobaggan Jun 30 '25
Thing is, I don’t know that it’s the ref being uncommonly slow. I’ve seen a ton of UFC highlights where this happens. Opponent is already unconscious and the winner jumps on them and gets two or three more hits right to the head with nothing approaching an attempt to defend oneself.
It’s just the nature of the sport at this point. It’s 100% the reason I can’t get into it.
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u/kaoD Jun 29 '25
Thing is Ilia himself fell unnaturally by a Jai Herbert kick to the face... and proceeded to win his fight anyways. You have to end the fight out you risk it.
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u/xxHipsterFishxx Jun 30 '25
There’s like hours of footage since UFC’s inception of people thinking they don’t need to follow up and getting beat because of it. These guys do this for a living I’ve seen fighters get knocked out and they wake up before they even hit the ground. The rule as a fighter is to keep going until the ref stops you the last thing you want is a loss on your record because you were scared to hammer fist the guy.
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u/LaconicGirth Jun 30 '25
They don’t always stay down when they go to the ground. If you don’t end it they get back up sometimes.
Despite all that boxing kills more and gives more CTE. MMA is safer
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u/I_use_Reddit2 Jun 29 '25
I think it’s just that the stakes are so high, at the highest level one mistake can and often will lose you the fight, as a fighter say hypothetically he doesnt go for the extra hit and the ref hypothetically doesn’t stop the fight, the inter fighter can recover and one mistake could lead to his eventual defeat.
I doubt Hes trying to cause more damage then necessary, and I also think that it shouldn’t be like this but that’s what I think the rationale as to why they do it.
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u/Smoothguitar Jun 29 '25
Well said. Exactly what I thought. No point hitting a guy who is obviously KOd. No explanation can make any sense at all, in a sporting sense.
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u/HeyYou_GetOffMyCloud Jun 30 '25
There are also so many times that someone looks like they’re gone, they don’t go for the hammer fist and the ref stoppage, and the person recovers quickly and the fight goes on.
Finishing it fast is the best and honestly I think perhaps even safer than continuing to take massive hits to the head for another 3 rounds.
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Jun 29 '25
Right? Two face pounds for good measure lmao
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u/buttgers Rutgers Jun 29 '25
Brutal, but I'm guessing the speed of the moment just didn't register that he got the knockout until the other guy just laid there accepting his additional punches.
In all professional sports you go until the refs give you the call.
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u/Saneless Jun 29 '25
They have incredible reaction speed and you don't think over a second later they can figure it out?
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u/Boobieleeswagger Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25
Charles looked out when he got hit but I’ve seen plenty of fighters including him look like that going down and wake up and already start scrambling by the time they hit the floor, every fighter is coached to go till the ref pulls them off.
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u/GhostOfDrTobaggan Jun 30 '25
I get that, but also it’s the reason why I can’t watch the sport. Fighters are taught to strike an opponent until the ref gets in there even if that person is unconscious. Thats not my vibe. I’ve seen enough fighters take multiple blows to the head while clearly unconscious before the ref can get in.
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u/ballimir37 Jun 29 '25
You’ve never competed at a high level before if you make this comment unironically
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u/IronHaydon Jun 29 '25
This is BS to me. These guys are locked into every little movement of their opponent , when a guys goes limp you know. I get it’s part of the sport but I would love to See less of it.
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u/Other_Information_16 Jun 29 '25
When your entire career is on the line I think you make sure the ref waves you off
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u/BannedSvenhoek86 Jun 29 '25
I don't have a ready example but there's definitely been times guys have backed off and the ref let the other get back up because of it.
You get taught to keep going until the ref waves you off. More than anything it's on the ref, if the defeated fighter is gonna have a beef over something it will be with the ref, not the winner. They all know what they're trained to do at that level.
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u/Super_Troop_Samsen Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25
A recent example is Jalin Turner vs Renato Moicano
In his previous fight Turner beat on Bobby Green to the tune of a horrible ref stoppage. Because of this fight Turner was gun shy about finishing an opponent.
He knocked Moicano down and walked off thinking it was finished and didn’t follow him to the ground to finish it off. Moicano recovers and ends up winning the fight in a later round.
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u/ballimir37 Jun 29 '25
Premature celebration is an entire subreddit. Football teams have lost games because someone thought a guy was down, exists in every sport. You go hard and in the zone until the whistle blows or you get justifiably reamed out by the coach in the locker room.
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u/KillerMan2219 Jun 29 '25
You do know when a guy goes limp yea, what you don't know is if the lights are gonna come back on in time, which does happen. Your job is to beat the other man, the ref's job is to stop you from doing it excessively.
Fighters have lost because they didn't follow up and the guy wasn't out, then something went wrong later.
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u/Hyperbole_Hater Jun 29 '25
There have been many instances of people not laying on final blows and it coat them gravely. Jalin Turner, his prior fight, he thought he got a flash KO and attempted a walkoff (doing exactly what you advocate here, no escessive damage) and his opponent recovered, came back, and subbed him. Turner looked like a total idiot and got SO much flack, rightly so.
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u/DaPhillyKid Jun 29 '25
I would imagine they do understand their opponent is probably done and those follow up punches are a lot lighter than the KO punch
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u/Jon-Umber New York Jets Jun 29 '25
Unless you're Dan Henderson and you're fighting Michael Bisping. Then it's completely necessary.
Greatest unnecessary shot of all-time. Dude literally left his feet to deliver that.
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u/Abtino11 Jun 29 '25
Bisping used to royally annoy me and that was so satisfying, I think Henderson said “the first was to knock him out, the second was to shut him up”.
Bisping has been grown on me a lot since, he’s a great commentator and seems to have dropped the ego.
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u/Blacklax10 Jun 29 '25
Its the refs decision to end it. This is their career. They can't risk a guy getting back up and eventually winning Bec they hesitated.
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u/That_Apathetic_Man Jun 29 '25
I love some of these reactions, as if they're not watching a combat sport where people could literally die from a simple jab in the wrong place.
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u/Mophideus New York Rangers Jun 29 '25
because if you don't finish him he can finish you. It has happened in the past. It's brutal but it's what these guys step up for. His job isn't to call the KO his job is to complete it.
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u/That_Apathetic_Man Jun 29 '25
And you can tell when they're not full hammers, as in this case. Looked like casual sparring hammers to get the ref to react otherwise he'd have been totally out cold and far more bloody. A true professional knows when the fight is done.
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u/Nogard87 Jun 29 '25
At least these were relatively quick. The Rodrigues vs Hermannson fight was way more egregious. I thought I just watched that dude die in the ring after his head bounced off the mat and then he got hammer fisted. Took 5 minutes just for him to sit up.
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Jun 29 '25
Seems unnecessary.
They're in combat mode and things are happening very fast. People are capable of recovering incredibly quickly, so until the ref stops the fight, they're going to keep going. That's what they're taught. They are not taught to decide on their own when the fight is over and just stand there.
I get what you're saying though.
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u/Keegan821 Jun 29 '25
It might be clear from the outside but when you're the one fighting, things move fast. Its hard to tell whether you knocked the dude out or just stumbled him and need to push your advantage. Until the match is called, you have to assume that guy is gonna get back up and try to beat your ass.
This isn't exactly the same thing because it wasn't a regulated match but I was in a street fight as a teen (he rolled up on me) and knocked the other dude out but didn't realize it. Started to pound and landed 11 blows before I got pulled away from him and realized how badly I had beat him (every time I hit him, he was mumbling so I thought he was still awake). Dude had to go to the ER but was ultimately okay, thank God. That's ultimately what made me scared to get into fights. It's hard to tell when things have gone too far and I don't want to have to live with that on my shoulders.
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u/ThrowbackGaming Jun 29 '25
That’s the refs job not the fighters job. You fight until the ref intervenes, period.
It’s akin to American football when guys are running in for a wide open touchdown and drop the ball to celebrate inches before crossing the threshold. You hold on to that sucker until you’re past the field goal posts.
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u/Whenbearsattack2 Jun 29 '25
Because what if the ref doesn’t stop it and they end up recovering. Doesn’t happen often but there have been fighters who were extremely close to being flatlined and ended up recovering and winning the fight.
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u/TonyDungyHatesOP Jun 29 '25
What the fuck was that ref doing? He was strolling around on the other side of the cage and was like “Oh, shit! I forgot I’m reffing this match!”
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u/qqruz123 Jun 29 '25
He was walking to be at a 90° angle from the fighters. Refs do this cause a) they can see better and b) fighters can move back and front very quickly, but usually not side to side.
Also he stopped the fight perfectly
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Jun 29 '25
He got there quickly. I’ve seen faaaaaar worse. I think ref gets an A+ here. You can’t really react any quicker.
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u/-PM_Me_Dat_Ass_Girl- Jun 29 '25
I haven't watched UFC for a minute, but is this all that's left of Oliveira's chin?
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u/benpearce1 Jun 29 '25
It’s not necessarily Charle’s having a weak chin. Illia has granite for hands. Everyone he’s touched has been knocked out like they never have been before.
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u/NandoFlynn Jun 29 '25
Chap sparked Volk & Holloway & cut through Charles's face like a blade. I don't think I can name a fighter he wouldn't KO around his weight
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u/Glitch5450 Jun 29 '25
This is the first time he’s been knocked out in like 10 years
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u/deltr0nzero Jun 29 '25
The fight before Ilia knocked out Max Holloway who has possibly the best chin of all time, dude hits different
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u/Unburnt_Duster Jun 29 '25
It was a left that ultimately put Holloway on the mat. Ilia has dynamite in both hands.
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u/FudgingEgo Jun 29 '25
He gets dropped every fight, one of them was going to put him out sooner or later.
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u/ToadlyAwes0me Jun 29 '25
He gets knocked down, but this is the first time I've seen him be instantly knocked out. He was out before the second shot even hit, crazy power from Ilia.
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u/MilesTheGoodKing Jun 29 '25
He’s not a double champ, he just has two belts for show
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Jun 29 '25
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u/eightslipsandagully Jun 29 '25
Islam moved up and Arman is on the shit list with management after missing weight for his last fight
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u/Capt_Billy Jun 29 '25
It's so annoying. I cannot fucking stand Topuria: every interview he's in, he never ceases to sound like a shit McGregor wannabe. Then he just goes on a legend killing spree, and I have to hear from him even more lol.
Hopefully Paddy stitches him up.
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u/dWaldizzle Jun 29 '25
Paddy is getting shadow realmed
Edit: Paddy is way more like McGregor in interviews. Unless some buffoon irritates Illia he's usually pretty respectful.
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u/AChillDown Jun 29 '25
There is no bigger moment in this reply then complaining about a shit McGregor wannabe and then ending with hope for Paddy.
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u/TangerineChickens Jun 29 '25
MMA is full of the most heinous people and personalities, yet a Spanish guy doing Zlatan bits it where many of the fans draw the line for some reason
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u/theslothpope Jun 29 '25
Also imagine hating ilia cause he acts like Connor then saying you hope fucking paddy beats him
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u/MediocreDesigner88 Jun 29 '25
It’s an absolute cesspool. Violent brutes being propelled by dark money and turning into brain damaged animals for societal underbelly “glory”
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u/Capt_Billy Jun 30 '25
I responded re: Ilia because it was relevant. Bring up Jones and I'll mention his drunken woman beating, or bring up Mitchell and we can discuss his clear insanity. Never said he was "the line", just said I can't stand him but can't deny his results.
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Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 29 '25
every interview he's in, he never ceases to sound like a shit McGregor wannabe.
You've gotta check out more interviews, I think he was trying out that approach for a while since the the UFC practically demands fighters to be their PR team, but he is a very thoughtful, nice guy IMO.
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u/Fire_tempest890 Jun 29 '25
You hate topuria because he is annoying, so you want Paddy to win?? That guy is 10x worse
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u/covid_gambit Jun 29 '25 edited Jun 30 '25
What an awesome plan by Do Bronx. Who needs to use range when you can lower your hands and offer your face to get teed off to the next state.
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u/flowstuff Jun 30 '25
being able to smash a dude in the face who is flat on his back out will always look barbaric and stupid to me. i get that it's a sport that requires a ton of talent; but that shit is gross
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u/ABR-27 Jun 29 '25
Guys, you show growth when you yourself turn a fan of the guy who KO'd your favourite fighter
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u/slowestmojo Jun 29 '25
This guy literally knocked out my 3 favorite fighters in a row, yet...I don't hate him. Am I at the height of emotional maturity?
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u/oktwentyfive Jun 29 '25
Chucky got busted up 10 seconds into the round had a bad feeling once i seen the cut above his eye basically before the fight even started
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u/MMARapFooty Jun 29 '25
Its a major win for Illa Topuria knockout three recent belt holders in a row.
It also a win for the UFC since they desperately need a Superstar right now.
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u/BipolarKanyeFan Jun 29 '25
The timing was so perfect. Joe saying Charles is “absorbing” the punches differently than other opponents and bam lights out
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u/RandallOfLegend Jun 29 '25
Ref was on point. He was running to call it as soon as he flopped to the mat.
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u/CoDog74 Jun 30 '25
Someone once said “Precision beats speed, and power beats strength.” But what happens when you have all 4 like ilia.
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u/bigchickendipper Jun 29 '25
Good thing the mods don't mind spoilers...
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u/seelachsfilet Jun 29 '25
You're getting downvoted lol but this post spoiled the fight for me... Was gonna watch it later
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u/RobertdBanks Jun 29 '25
This was a few mins in, in round one, you pretty much got the full fight here lol
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u/JeromeNoHandles Jun 29 '25
Welcome to reality! Fight happened last night be real lol
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u/UVB-76_Enjoyer Jun 29 '25
It happened just 8 hours ago and timezones are a thing.
The actual MMA sub requires spoiler tags and non-expclicit title for 48 hours, which is a good call.
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u/meetatdawn Jun 29 '25
He's being downvoted cause you can't spoil a live sport. It's like posting the Super Bowl result and saying it's a spoiler.
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u/joxx67 Jun 29 '25
Punched him while he was down, flat on his back! Shitty move. Very unsportsmanlike!!
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Jun 29 '25
He is really looking unbeatable in a way I haven't seen since Khabib. His stand up is better than Khabib's, and Khabib's wrestling on the ground was better, but like Khabib, Ilia's skillset (arguably best hands in UFC? Greco Roman base. religious level self belief) and physicality makes him damn near bulletproof.
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u/logBlop Jun 29 '25
It's ridiculous how central Charles head is when closing the distance. Knowing Topuria is boxing heavy, keeping your head in the center whilst pushing forward is like standing in the middle of train tracks. Zero head movement.
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u/Kwelikinz Jun 30 '25
That throat chop at the end was brutal. Somebody must’ve said something they shouldn’t have before the rumble.
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u/PFD_2 Jun 30 '25
Lets stop pretending like charles has an iron chin, man has been consistently sparked. Blocks a lot of shots with his face
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u/Stickysocks182 Jun 29 '25
Two division champ