Ilia Topuria does not see Khabib Nurmagomedov as a GOAT contender.
The Spanish star currently occupies the UFC throne that Nurmagomedov sat on through three successful defenses until his retirement in 2020.
Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last June to follow in the Brazilian and Islam Makhachev’s footsteps by succeeding ‘The Eagle’ at 155 pounds.
But ‘El Matador’ seemingly does not look back on the legend’s time at the top of the division too fondly.
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Ilia Topuria says Khabib Nurmagomedov was not ‘fun to watch’
Nurmagomedov’s greatness was among the topics discussed by Topuria during a recent appearance on Adin Ross’ Kick stream.
The Spaniard was honest with his assessment of ‘The Eagle’, admitting he never enjoyed watching the Dagestani’s fights inside the Octagon.
In fact, Topuria thinks people only tuned in to Nurmagomedov’s outings due to the chance he might lose his ‘0’.
“(Nurmagomedov) wasn’t fun to watch until his last two fights,” Topuria said.
“What made him fun to watch was that he was undefeated and the fact that there was going to be somebody who was going to beat him.
“But the reality was, I never was fan of his fight style,” he added.
The Spaniard went on to suggest that Nurmagomedov is not one of the five greatest fighters of all time.
Ilia Topuria has the chance to become a UFC GOAT contender
While he believes Nurmagomedov fell short of rivaling the likes of Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre for GOAT status, Topuria could have the opportunity to enter the mix.
The Dagestani fought exclusively at lightweight, cementing his status as that division’s consensus greatest up until his protege Islam Makhachev enjoyed a reign that put him in contention.
Topuria, meanwhile, has made it clear that he favors individual accolades over a lengthy title reign. He moved up to lightweight after one defense at featherweight, and he has already been discussing another switch.
He wants to do something no other fighter has acheived inside the Octagon. Topuria is targeting three-weight UFC title glory and hopes to challenge Makhachev at 170 pounds to make that happen.
Should he become the first triple champion in UFC history, ‘El Matador’ would undoubtedly have a place in the GOAT discussion.
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