Joe Rogan muses about exciting lightweight slugfest for Ilia Topuria: "F*****g huge for 55"

On episode #167 of the JRE MMA Show, Joe Rogan was joined by UFC bantamweight contender Corey Sandhagen, with whom he expressed interest over a hypothetical bout between newly-minted lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and flashy 155-pound striker Mauricio Ruffy.

The conversation took place prior to Topuria's recent lightweight title-winning triumph at UFC 317. Rogan wondered just how well the Spaniard would do in the division, given how large some of the lightweights are, especially Ruffy, who is 5 feet 11 inches tall, despite Rogan mistakenly referring him to as over 6 feet tall.

"Well, it's going to be interesting him at 55. Much bigger guys. Like, think about Mauricio Ruffy. He's a 55'er, and he's f*****g gigantic. Like how tall is Ruffy? I mean, he's got to be 6'1", maybe 6'2", and he's 55. And he's not thin. I mean, he's lean, but he's not scrawny. He's got muscle. He's f******g huge for 55. And Ilia, as powerful as he is, he's not that big."

Check out Joe Rogan's thoughts on Ilia Topuria at lightweight (1:20:07):

Topuria is coming off a thunderous performance at UFC 317, where he delivered on his promise and knocked Charles Oliveira out in round one in devastating fashion. In doing so, he captured the vacant lightweight title, setting up a potential first title defense against Paddy Pimblett, with whom he had a post-fight scuffle.

For now, 'El Matador' is on one of the hottest win streaks in the promotion. He is undefeated at 17-0, and has knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and 'do Bronx' in his last three fights.

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Joe Rogan didn't take Ilia Topuria's first lightweight fight into account

While Joe Rogan wondered how well Ilia Topuria would do against the larger lightweights, he already had an answer. Back in 2022, the Spaniard made his lightweight debut at UFC Fight Night 204 against the 6 feet 1 inch-tall Jai Herbert. It was an explosive fight, with the Englishman dropping him in round one.

Check out Ilia Topuria knocking out Jai Herbert:

Topuria, though, recovered from the head kick and returned in round two to obliterate Herbert with a slick combination, offering the longtime UFC commentator a glimpse of his future lightweight success.