After winning the UFC Honors award for Knockout of the Year 2025, Ilia Topuria has made another bold prediction.
Topuria’s first-round KO of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 was selected as the 2025 Knockout of the Year under the UFC Honors series.
Last year, ‘El Matador’ and ‘Do Bronxs’ competed for the vacant lightweight belt. The 28-year-old, who had given up his featherweight throne for two-division glory at the time, had predicted he would beat the Brazilian Cold in Round 1, and it came true.
At UFC 317, after a brief struggle, both fighters decided to get up and act. In the pocket, Topuria connected with a left hook. Oliveira tried to shoot back and endangered his guard. Within a second, Topuria countered with a sharp right hand and immediately followed with a left hook that was enough to send ‘Do Bronxs’ to the shadows.
Topuria plans to hit similar highs in 2026 when he returns to fight the winner of the UFC 324 headliner. He posted on X:
“The prize for the best knockout of the year in 2026 will also be mine 🌹”
Check out Ilia Topuria’s post below:
Before defeating Oliveira to capture the vacant 155-pound throne, ‘El Matador’ faced Max Holloway and became the first man to knock out ‘Blessed’. Before that, he also knocked out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 to claim the UFC featherweight title.
Ilia Topuria thinks he can take out Arman Tsarukyan “Easy”.
During a recent Q&A on X, a fan asked Ilia Topuria if he could knock out Arman Tsarukyan. Topuria responded, calling it “easy.”
Check out Ilia Topuria’s answer below:
However, Topuria does have that no intention of fighting the number one ranked UFC lightweight contender.
Many fans and analysts believe that Tsarukyan’s ruthless backpack-style wrestling could neutralize Topuria’s attack and possibly lead to unrest. That’s why some think ‘El Matador’ is hesitant to enter the fray.
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