There has been a lot of talk about the recession that’s going on in the MMA scene, with the lack of stars being one of the reasons. After Conor McGregor, there’s hardly been anyone who’s reached the same level of fame and the same level of drawing power. Nevertheless, there have been a few fighters who’ve made a significant impact recently, and guess what? A couple of veterans in the sport, Josh Thomson and John McCarthy, seemed to have their chips on Ilia Topuria.
The Georgian-Spaniard recently made history after capturing the lightweight title, which was his second divisional title win, at UFC 317. Josh Thomson believes Ilia Topuria has earned the moniker of being called the biggest star in the UFC. While John McCarthy seemed to agree with his co-host on the Weighing In podcast, he believes Tom Aspinall can give ‘El Matador’ a challenge in that race for stardom.
“The only one [fighter] I can tell you right now [who might be a bigger star than Topuria] is sitting there with a popularity, that’s Tom Aspinall,” said John McCarthy. “People like Tom Aspinall.” As soon as he said that, Josh Thomson brought up the only other fighter besides Conor McGregor and Jon Jones to get ‘The One, The Only’ tag from Bruce Buffer, Alex Pereira.
2024 was certainly the year of Alex Pereira. He was perhaps the most active champion on the roster, defending his title thrice in the space of eight months or so. He won a lot of fans, and unlike Ilia Topuria, he entered Bruce Buffer’s exclusive club as well. Josh Thomson asked, “More than Alex Pereira?” He wanted to know his co-host’s thoughts on Pereira’s star power compared to Tom Aspinall. John McCarthy claimed that ‘Poatan’s recent loss may have diverted more fans towards the heavyweight champion. Despite that, the veteran referee still believes Topuria can offer a lot more as a star than any of the heavyweights.
“Off the fact that Alex lost his last fight and everything, yeah. I’m gonna say that Tom Aspinall is there, but Ilia Topuria, he’s the guy that you’re looking at as, ‘Hey, that’s the next one to hold that star status for a while,’” John McCarthy added. “Even if he ended up losing, it’s just the way he conducts himself, the way that he gets prepared for a fight, the way he brings family and does things. There’s a whole lot that you can do with him.”
Spain: Ilia Topuria Ilia Topuria attends the Madrid press conference for Topuria: Matador presented by Movistar at Gran Teatro Caixabank PrÃncipe PÃo on July 03, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. Madrid Madrid Spain NOxUSExINxGERMANY PUBLICATIONxINxALGxARGxAUTxBRNxBRAxCANxCHIxCHNxCOLxECUxEGYxGRExINDxIRIxIRQxISRxJORxKUWxLIBxLBAxMLTxMEXxMARxOMAxPERxQATxKSAxSUIxSYRxTUNxTURxUAExUKxVENxYEMxONLY Copyright: xOscarxGonzalezx Editorial use only sipausa_54346709
Meanwhile, the two podcast hosts also showed their love for Tom Aspinall, even though they believe Ilia Topuria is ahead in terms of star power. But John McCarthy seems to have an idea as to how the heavyweight champion can get to that star status. Here’s what he had to say.
MMA veteran reveals the reason why Ilia Topuria is a bigger star than Tom Aspinall
Ilia Topuria’s entry into the lightweight division and his winning the title have opened the doors for a variety of potential matches. People are already invested in a potential Paddy Pimblett fight, while other top contenders like Arman Tsarukyan, former BMF champion Justin Gaethje, and former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev could also get matched up with the reigning champion for interesting fights in the future.
However, the situation with Tom Aspinall is not the same as Ilia Topuria, as John McCarthy claims he’s lacking a viable arch-rival in the heavyweight division. “The problem for them with Tom Aspinall, in my opinion, is they just don’t have that f—ing nemesis to go across from him since Jon Jones has left. Or whether he has or not,” McCarthy further stated.
Even though Ilia Topuria appears to be the bigger star, Dana White has full confidence in Tom Aspinall to get to that star status as well. After all, the UFC CEO called him “the man” after Jon Jones’ short-lived retirement, so we’ll have to wait and see how the future pans out for the Englishman. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
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