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Ariel Helwani remains among the most prominent voices in the mixed martial arts community. The MMA Hour host recently discussed the featherweight title picture following Ilia Topuria's second-round knockout victory against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298.
Helwani revealed that he believes 'The Great' should fight for a title in his next bout but it should not be in 'El Matador's first title defense. He claimed that the winner of this weekend's bout between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega should be the challenger before discussing how the 'BMF' title bout has affected the featherweight title picture. He said:
"If Max Holloway didn't get a fight against Justin Gaethje on April 13th for the 'BMF' title - that stupid belt that means nothing - it would be Max versus Ilia. Massive fight, [Santiago] Bernabeu [Stadium], put it in there, 80,000 people. The former king going up against the new king. That's the one. But no.
"This is what I said when they booked Gaethje versus Holloway. What did I say? 'Why? Just wait to see how this one plays out'. It's these thrown-together fights that have no significance or stakes. Fabricated. It should be Holloway versus Topuria... We've been hearing for years it's about the 145 belt, but now we're forgoing that for the 'BMF' title?"
Check out Ariel Helwani's comments on the featherweight title picture below:
Instagram user @lrod0983 responded, claiming that the 'BMF' title is legit:
"Sorry bro you sound like a hater BMF IS A LEGIT TITLE"
Helwani responded with one word, stating:
"gtfoooooooooo"
Ariel Helwani projects Ilia Topuria could become one of the faces of MMA
Ilia Topuria cemented his name in the UFC record books when he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in the second round at UFC 298 and became just the fifth featherweight champion in promotional history. Ariel Helwani recently said that he believes 'El Matador' could become one of the faces of mixed martial arts, tweeting:
"Topuria is on a rocket ship. Couple title defenses and he’ll very much be in the convo for one of the faces of the sport"
Check out Ariel Helwani's tweet on Ilia Topuria below:
Topuria has been on a fast rise since joining the UFC in 2020, needing just seven fights to claim the featherweight title. He appears likely to lead the promotion into Spain for the first time ever.
