Ilia Topuria isn’t letting Terence Crawford control the conversation.
The UFC lightweight champion is currently embroiled in a verbal back-and-forth with Crawford, the undefeated boxing superstar coming off of a career-defining win over Canelo Alvarez this past Saturday. Ahead of that fight, Crawford and Topuria traded verbal barbs, with “El Matador” claiming he expects a fast knockout of Crawford
should they ever meet in the ring.Crawford appeared to throw subtle shade at Topuria by entering to the
song Canción del mariachi for his fight with Alvarez. That song has also been used by Topuria for his UFC walkouts.
On Monday, Crawford told Uncrowned he’s not familiar with Topuria’s career and noted “He’s nowhere near on the level of Conor McGregor.” Topuria responded to Crawford on social media.
“You say you’re an MMA fan but you don’t even know who I am,” Topuria wrote. “Interesting. The first time we met you told me ‘Good luck this week with your fight.’ Your memory fails you and soon your chin will too.
“I’ll represent the entire MMA community. Pound-for-pound No. 1 in real fights vs. the pound-for-pound boxer.”
Topuria recently became UFC lightweight champion with a stunning first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira in June. Prior to that win, Topuria won and successfully defended the featherweight title once, knocking out future Hall of Famers Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. His record stands at 17-0.
In the UFC’s official rankings, Topuria sits at No. 1, while he is one spot behind Islam Makhachev at No. 2 in the MMA Fighting Pound-for-Pound rankings. Crawford is regularly mentioned in the discussion for boxing’s pound-for-pound best, along with the likes of Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue.
