UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria has feared hands in mixed martial arts, but could he deal damage to some of boxing’s best in the ring?
That question arose after Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 this past June to become the promotion’s latest two-division champion.
The result also cemented the Spaniard’s three-fight run as one of the best and most brutal streaks in history. After first stopping Alexander Volkanovski to become featherweight king, Topuria knocked out Max Holloway, a man who had never been put out cold before throwing down with ‘El Matador’.
Topuria’s undefeated run has unsurprisingly left many branding him MMA’s best boxer, but his skills in that department were recently dismissed by former WBA Continental (Europe) welterweight champion Conor Benn.
Tyron Woodley says Ilia Topuria would put Conor Benn out cold in boxing
The 23-1 Benn, who lost his undefeated status against Chris Eubank Jr last time out, mentioned Topuria while laying down an open challenge to MMA fighters earlier this month.
“Whoever these f—— UFC fighters want to come over to boxing, dangerous game,” Benn told TNT Sports. “Any of these MMA lot want to come over to boxing, if you fancy somebody, you can come and get it. Nasty.
“Anyone wants to come over from the UFC…Ilia Topuria, I’ve got these hands brother. Disrespect us boxers, you’re all getting it.”
But former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley thinks ‘The Destroyer’ would be biting off more than he could chew.
In fact, during an interview with Action Network, Woodley went as far as to predict that Topuria would knock out Benn inside the first four rounds.
“I’m watching what he’s doing — his setups, his power,” Woodley said of Topuria. “He shortens his punches up close, extends when he’s long, uses feints, jabs, power in both hands, presses forward, great defense.
“I think he could do damage in boxing. He could even jump straight in against top guys in his weight. I don’t know the exact weight, but I think he can be a force. I think Ilia would beat Conor Benn.
“Benn’s got power, too, but Ilia’s cleaner, sharper, more technical, with the same power,” Woodley continued. “Benn’s got a lot of power, but I’d say Ilia stops him. I’d got on record to say Ilia Topuria would stop Conor Benn, and I don’t think it would take more than four rounds.
“It would take the first three to adjust to boxing clinching, range, and distance, but between rounds three and four, I think he knocks him unconscious.”
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLCIf Ilia Topuria doesn’t want it, Tyron Woodley is open to boxing Conor Benn
If Topuria wants the chance to put his boxing talents to the test against Benn, he had better start pushing for Dana White to change his stance on another UFC-boxing crossover clash. If not, Woodley wants a piece of the Englishman himself.
In his last fight, Woodley was brutally knocked out by Jake Paul. The ex-UFC champion has not competed since that humiliating 2021 result but is ready to make a comeback four years later.
‘The Chosen One’ remains without an opponent and would not be opposed to answering Benn’s open challenge to MMA fighters.
“Conor Benn is a little bit lighter, but for the right bag, I’ll fight him,” Woodley said in the same interview. “He is kind of messy to me. I think he’s kind of like a fighter that fought in the UFC, ‘Hands of Stone’ (John Lineker).
“He threw everything from the waist. Real powerful. But with good straight punches and jabs and timing and reach — he was just walking onto shots.
“I can’t see me fighting Benn, I think that’s a fight for Ilia, because he kind of mentioned Ilia,” Woodley added. “But he did kind of say something about MMA fighters trying to fight boxers.
“Man, if he wanted to fight, yeah, I’ll fight his little hobbit a—.”