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Daniel Cormier recently discussed Joe Rogan's reaction to Ilia Topuria celebrating his victory before his title fight at UFC 317. Notably, Rogan was concerned that Topuria's confidence would backfire.
Topuria made a name for himself in recent times when he defeated Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira, who are admired by many in the MMA community. The Georgian-Spaniard's self-belief proved everyone wrong as he knocked out his opponents in spectacular fashion.
Last month, Topuria became the new undisputed lightweight champion and the 10th UFC fighter to hold belts in two weight classes after viciously knocking out Oliveira at UFC 317. The 28-year-old made quick work of the former champion in the opening round, delivering exactly what he had envisioned.
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In a recent episode of the Good Guy / Bad Guy podcast, Cormier and co-host Chael Sonnen expressed their thoughts on Topuria's mentality. Sonnen asserted that the newly crowned 155-pound kingpin hosted a victory party before even winning the belt, saying:
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''[Topuria] had his celebration party the day before the fight Daniel, they cheered him and he took the cheers.''
Cormier then revealed that Rogan was concerned about Topuria's confident nature:
''And I talk to Rogan and Rogan goes, 'He's really tempting faith, man. This guy is playing with some real karma.'''
Check out Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen's comments below (22:16):
Topuria vacated his featherweight throne earlier this year and moved up to lightweight after being vocal about a superfight with Islam Makhachev. However, Makhachev dismissed the unbeaten champion on several occasions before making a switch to welterweight.
As of now, Topuria is focused on defending his lightweight gold, as many top contenders like Paddy Pimblett, Arman Tsarukyan, Justin Gaethje, and Max Holloway are waiting for a title opportunity.
Retired UFC legend discusses Ilia Topuria's chances against Islam Makhachev
Dustin Poirier, who called off his MMA career at UFC 318 on Saturday, offered his thoughts on the potential Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev fight.
During the media day, Poirier acknowledged Topuria's skills, saying:
“I think [Topuria] going to 170 to fight Islam if Islam wins is a stretch. Islam’s big. I’ve never seen Ilia in person, he seems smaller. Obviously he can knock anyone out...[Topuria] has the skills, the power, the technique but we’ve just never seen him in there with somebody that big and with that caliber of wrestling. But I think he should defend to [155] title a few times before that’s talked about. We’ll see.”
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below (13:42):
