Ilia Topuria’s next fight: Dominick Cruz’s thoughts on who should face UFC champion

UFC legend Dominick Cruz has given his thoughts on who Ilia Topuria should defend his UFC lightweight championship against first.

As we know, Ilia Topuria is one of the most feared fighters in all of mixed martial arts right now. He is a two-weight world champion, and he is the current king of the lightweight division. In his last three fights, he has managed to knock out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira in a run that can simply be described as incredible.

Ilia Topuria is well aware of just how good he is, and he also knows that there are plenty of contenders out there who are ready for a title shot. That list includes Arman Tsarukyan, Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett, with all having a realistic chance of receiving that honor from the promotion.

In a recent interview, Dominick Cruz gave his pick for who he believes Ilia Toupira should battle next.

Dominick Cruz’s pick for Ilia Topuria’s next opponent

“If we’re talking about the best actual fighter in the division it would probably be Tsarukyan, for a style that could beat Topuria,” Cruz told MMA Junkie. “If I look at the style that would have the best chance to beat Topuria, I would say it’s Tsarukyan. But if we’re going to talk about storyline, the gate, ticket sales, promotion. So it’s either you’re coming from an analytical standpoint or coming from the promoter standpoint, it would have to be Paddy. When I look at it from the analytical standpoint, it would have to be Tsarukyan.”

“When your first base is grappling, and then you’re as good of a striker as Topuria is, you’re more of a complete fighter,” Cruz said. When you talk about Dan Hooker, we know they can’t wrestle out in Australia. You just know it. I’m not saying Volkanovski can’t. That’s a guy that’s shown in pretty strong. When you look at the history there’s not a huge wrestling program in Australia. … Topuria had that first, that makes the fight different for Arman.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Do you agree? Let us know, fight fans.