A Supreme Court Justice more than 60 years ago was wrestling with a decision on pornographic materials. I can’t define it, he said, “but I know it when I see it.”
That line is a perfect way to describe superstardom in the UFC.
It’s nearly impossible to define what makes a fighter transcendent — but when it’s there, you feel it in your bones.
You didn’t have to watch Conor McGregor long to know he was built different.
Same with Ronda Rousey.
And while Georges St-Pierre, Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Randy Couture, and Jon Jones all had different styles and personalities, you saw it in them, too.
You felt it in your gut. The crowds were bigger. The cheers louder. The spotlight hotter.
Say Conor, or Ronda, or GSP, or Brock, or Chuck, or Anderson, or Randy or Bones, and fans knew who you meant.
Those names stirred something. They commanded attention. They provoked emotion.
Stars like that are generational, and the UFC is filled with talent but bereft of anyone like a McGregor or a Lesnar.
McGregor, the UFC’s biggest star, hasn’t fought in more than four years and likely never will again. Jones just retired.
The field isn’t barren, though.
Watch Ilia Topuria once and you see it.
Listen to him talk for a few minutes and you feel it.
He’s got that brash certainty — the kind that comes from youth, from talent, from knowing the future belongs to you — and you see he’s on the verge of joining that list.
If he beats Charles Oliveira on Saturday to win the lightweight title at UFC 317 in Las Vegas, it will be the official start of the Ilia Era.
The guy dresses like GSP, talks like McGregor and punches like Liddell.
He’s got that indefinable spark, the one that makes great fighters unforgettable.
He vacated the featherweight title because the cut from 180 to 145 was too much for his body.
But if he defeats Oliveira Saturday, he’ll not only become a two-division champion, but will also once again be the UFC’s only undefeated champion.
He knocked out Alex Volkanovski to win the title and kayoed Max Holloway in his only featherweight defense.
A win Saturday will give him consecutive victories over Volkanovski, Holloway and Oliveira.
Take your time and think of how many fighters in the sport’s history had wins of that caliber back-to-back-back.
It’s not many.
Topuria is a 4-1 favorite on Saturday and a win would give him that epic hat trick.Oliveira is one of the best finishers in UFC history. Among his 35 wins, he has 10 knockouts and 21 submissions. Guys generally end a fight with Oliveira unconscious or with a limb dangling.
Oliveira said “I believe in the firepower I have in my hands.” He’s more known as a submission artist, but ask Jared Gordon about his power.
Topuria, though, sneered when he heard Oliveira expressing confidence in his power.
“If he thinks he has a more powerful punch than me, that’s very wishful thinking,” Topuria said.
He said to prove his point, he’d break the fight up into segments.
“I challenge him to do this: Let’s do just a round like a boxing match,” Topuria said. “Then a round that’s a grappling match. And then one that is wrestling. It doesn’t matter. I beat him everywhere. However I want to do this, I [can]. That’s how confident I am.”
He’s as good with his words as he is with his punches. Most fighters loathe even thinking of a future opponent when they have a fight on the docket, much less discuss it.
Topuria has unbridled ambition and he’s not afraid to share his dreams.
He has a goal of winning the welterweight title after he defeats Oliveira to claim the lightweight strap. That would make him the UFC’s only three-division champion.
He’d hoped to challenge lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for the 155-pound belt on Saturday, but Makhachev is also interested in becoming a dual champion. He’ll fight Jack Della Maddalena for the crown later this year, surrendering his lightweight belt.
In debating whether to defend at lightweight against Topuria, many on Makhachev’s team were concerned about Topuria being too small, as well as not a big enough draw.
Topuria has a bit of what makes President Trump so popular with working-class fans. He’ll say publicly what many think but keep to themselves.
No one would ever accuse this fiery Spaniard of being politically correct.
“To be honest, they talk so much bullshit,” Topuria said of Makhachev and his team. “They act like they invented the sport. I said this before, but they talk, talk and talk, but at the end of the day, they do what they are told to do.“They said they wouldn’t vacate the belt, but what happened? They said I wouldn’t get a title shot and I had to have one more fight before the title shot. What happened there? At the end, I’ve gotten my title shot. … At the end of the day, who gives a fuck about what they say. They don’t know what they’re talking about. They think they’re smart, but that’s not the case.”
He’s going to be a beloved champion if he keeps winning because he’s utterly fearless, both in the cage and in front of a mic.
He tore into Makhachev and said a bout against Paddy Pimblett would be bigger for him than a match against Makhachev.
“No one gives a fuck about Islam,” he said. “Even in Dagestan, when he’s fight, people go to sleep and watch his fight [on DVR] in the morning. Even at home, he’s not an attraction.”
Topuria-Makhachev may be the rivalry that defines this generation, its Nicklaus-Palmer or its Connors-McEnroe.
But he has to get past Oliveira on Saturday, and that’s no easy task.
Topuria has won Fight of the Night four times, Performance of the Night 13 times and Submission of the Night three times. With 20, he has the most finishes in UFC history and at 16, owns the mark for most wins by submission in the UFC.
He’s brash. He’s unbeaten. And he might be undeniable.
If he gets past Oliveira on Saturday, the Ilia Era won’t just be talk.
It’ll be fact — and you’ll know it when you see it.
Imagn Images
Ilia Topuria may well be the UFC's next superstar.