Ilia Topuria has rapidly ascended in the UFC, becoming one of its most prominent figures and achieving the rare feat of becoming a two-division champion.
At UFC 317, `El Matador` added another title to his collection, securing the vacant lightweight championship after relinquishing his featherweight belt.
Topuria`s impressive knockout victory over Charles Oliveira has ignited discussions among fans and analysts about whether his current streak could be considered the best in UFC history.
While Topuria currently sits atop the sport`s pound-for-pound rankings, some observers believe his recent performances already place him in contention as one of the all-time greats.
His dominant showing on Saturday night even captured the attention of Conor McGregor, arguably the biggest name in the sport`s history, who shared his thoughts on Topuria`s performance.
Eddie Alvarez Ranks Ilia Topuria Higher Than Conor McGregor Among UFC`s Two-Division Champions
In a recent discussion with MMA Junkie`s Mike Bohn, former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez was asked to rank the top 10 fighters who have successfully captured titles in multiple weight classes.
Alvarez famously lost his 155-pound title to Conor McGregor at UFC 205, a historic event where the Irishman became the first fighter to simultaneously hold two UFC belts.
Despite McGregor`s groundbreaking achievement and the notable nature of his title wins, Alvarez placed `The Notorious` at number 8 on his list. He explained that his ranking is significantly influenced by a fighter`s longevity and sustained performance.
For me, I’m so time biased. To do great things, you’ve got to do them for a while. That’s real greatness and that’s a big part of my criteria… To me, that’s the true mark.
Immediately following McGregor on his list, Alvarez ranked Ilia Topuria at number 7.
While acknowledging his admiration for `El Matador` and his remarkable recent success, the former UFC champion expressed hesitation in ranking Topuria much higher at this stage, primarily because his period of dominance is still very new.
The list of guys he’s beaten, I mean these are all-time greats he’s beaten in a row but I just want to see more. I want to see a longer length of time, that’s all. I just want to see a few more years of being great and then we can mark him. He’s just so hard to mark right now, he’s just so brand new. I think some people, they’ll say number one because he just fought three days ago.
Eddie Alvarez Names Jon Jones As The Top Two-Division UFC Champion
Claiming the top position on Eddie Alvarez`s list of the greatest two-division UFC champions was Jon Jones, a fighter widely regarded by many as the greatest of all time.
Although some might argue that Jones` tenure in the heavyweight division was less spectacular than his light heavyweight reign, Alvarez heavily weighted longevity when constructing his rankings. As the youngest champion in UFC history who has never lost a title bout inside the octagon, Jones possesses an undeniable record in this regard.
Alvarez stated that he is able to look past the numerous controversies that have surrounded Jon Jones throughout his career when evaluating his exceptional accomplishments as a fighter.
Regardless of how him and me align as human beings, it doesn’t matter. If you’re great, you’re great… Kind of like Ilia, to do what he’s done against the greatest, to dispatch them the way he’s done and for the period of time he’s done it for, I think it’s not even to be argued.
Percy Harlow