Ilia Topuria`s impressive ascent has solidified his status as a major UFC star, culminating in him becoming a two-division champion.
`El Matador` secured a title in a second weight class at UFC 317, claiming the vacant lightweight championship after relinquishing his featherweight belt.
His recent knockout victory over Charles Oliveira has sparked debate among fans regarding whether his current performance streak is the greatest ever seen in the UFC.
Currently the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, Topuria is already being considered by some as potentially one of the sport`s all-time greats.
His dominant showing recently even drew praise from Conor McGregor, arguably the biggest star in UFC history, who commented on Topuria`s victory.
Eddie Alvarez Places Ilia Topuria Ahead of Conor McGregor in Ranking of UFC Two-Division Champions
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie`s Mike Bohn, former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez was asked to rank the top 10 fighters who have held championships in two different weight classes.
Alvarez himself lost his lightweight title to Conor McGregor at UFC 205, where McGregor made history as the first fighter to hold two UFC belts simultaneously.
Despite McGregor`s historical achievement and impressive title wins, Alvarez cited a lack of longevity as the reason for ranking him at number 8.
“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.”
Following McGregor, Alvarez placed Ilia Topuria just above him at number 7.
While admiring `El Matador`s` impressive achievements, Alvarez couldn`t rank Topuria higher due to the uncertainty of whether he can sustain this level of success over a longer period.
He explained, “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.”
Jon Jones Tops Eddie Alvarez`s List of Greatest Two-Division UFC Champions
According to Alvarez, the greatest two-division champion in UFC history is Jon Jones, widely regarded by many as the sport`s GOAT (Greatest Of All Time).
Although some might view Jones` performance in the heavyweight division as less dominant, longevity was a key factor for `The Underground King` in creating his ranking.
Given that Jones holds the record for being the youngest UFC champion and has never lost a title fight inside the octagon, his standing based on sustained success is undeniable.
Alvarez emphasized that he separates his personal opinions on Jones`s controversial history from acknowledging his unparalleled in-cage achievements.
He concluded, “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.”
Rupert Hartwell