Ilia Topuria proved to be a man of his word.
at UFC 298, when he rendered his opponent unconscious with an exquisite right hook 3:32 into the second round of their headlining clash at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night. With that, Topuria claimed championship gold and improved to 15-0, signaling the beginning of a new era in the UFC’s featherweight division. The Spain-based Georgian oozes star potential, and at 27 years old could just be entering his peak years as a mixed martial artist.
Sherdog’s divisional and pound-for-pound rankings are compiled by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Tristen Critchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Ben Duffy, Jay Pettry, Marcelo Alonso, Keith Shillan, Tyler Treese and Rob Sargent.