Ilia Topuria won the featherweight belt and decided to chase a new dream and move up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev. On the other hand, Makhachev wanted to move up to welterweight and take the belt there, but the problem was, his brother in arms, Belal Muhammad, was sitting on that throne. However, now things have taken a turn— a bad one for Muhammad but a good one for Makhachev. Since ‘Remember the Name’ lost his belt to Jack Della Maddalena, Makhachev is free to fight him in welterweight.
Meanwhile, Topuria has already bagged his first fight that will bring him closer to the lightweight title if he wins. He is about to clash against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. The duo is training in full swing with the undefeated 18-star taking a leave from his coach, the Climent Brothers. On the other hand, ‘Do Bronx’ has a new helper in his camp. The Fighting Nerds alumni, Jean Silva, decided to join Oliveira’s base. Silva showed his confidence that he could imitate Topuria perfectly, and he is similar in size to the former featherweight champ. While speaking to AG Fight, he said, “I can imitate Topuria perfectly. Even his facial expressions—I’ve got them down.”
He even broke down every weakness that ‘El Matador’ has shown in his fighting style. Silva spoke on his YouTube channel and said, “Topuria has powerful hips, but when he throws a heavy hook, it often causes him to turn so much that he gives up his back. This happened multiple times in the fight with Bryce Mitchell.” This is not all, he also mentioned that Topuria has a tell-tale sign of setting up his right leg. “He pulls his rear leg far back and hides it, his stance becomes very sideways. He throws a jab, takes a step back, his eyes look under his left arm, then comes a small feint, some movement, and he fires the right straight. Even when he throws that right straight, it looks more like an overhand.”
The Brazilian star also mentioned that the Georgian Spaniard sometimes forgets about defence entirely. “When he got knocked down by Herbert, he threw a right overhand, then leaned back and threw a left hook. But he dropped his hand while throwing the hook. It was a very wide shot, and he got caught.” Meanwhile, he also mentioned that he did not want to badmouth Topuria but admitted that he fought better than the former featherweight champ.
Silva remains unbeaten in the UFC and is presently on a 5-fight winning streak. His most impressive win came over Bryce Mitchell, showing both his knockout power and technical accuracy. Silva overpowered Mitchell with relentless pressure and combinations, to finally win the fight at UFC 314. On top of that, both Silva and Topuria are almost 5’7”, so if Oliveira practices with the Brazilian, this might help him during the real fight event. On that note, let’s see how the duo is training for this showdown.
Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira’s training plans
Talking to the Spanish media, Ilia Topuria decided to call out Oliveira, “I haven’t dissed (Charles), I’ve told the truth. He has 10 losses. He says (lightweight) is the toughest division there is. When he was fighting at 145 lbs, Cub Swanson beat him up.”
He has already made many statements with scathing remarks on Oliveira and has a new game plan to prove himself. According to Spanish journalist Irati Pratt, Topuria and his brother, Aleksandre Topuria, have parted ways with their coaches, the Climent Brothers. The journo said, “Both parties live in different cities, and their multiple professional projects prevent them from collaborating in the same way they have always done.”
It seems like the brothers are trying something new for this new weightclass and fight. On the other hand Oliveira is training with Silva and also Diego Lima at the Chute Boxe for his upcoming fight focusing on improving his striking and high kick. So who do you think will have an upper hand in this fight? Tell us in the comments below.
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