“El Matador” is currently on the comeback trail after suffering a disappointing loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC White House this past June. Not only did Topuria drop the lightweight title to Gaethje, he also lost his undefeated record.
With the possibility of an immediate rematch looming, fans and media are split on whether Gaethje vs. Topuria 2 makes sense or if the champion deserves a fresh challenger. Either way, Diaz thinks Topuria was exposed to some degree in defeat.
“I don’t really give a f*ck about what they do, but Ilia is lame as f*ck,” Diaz said. “He’s f*cking lame. He’s a punching bag. He called me a punching bag, he’s a f*cking punching bag. He got his ass whooped.”
Prior to the Gaethje fight, Topuria was on a historic run, capturing UFC titles at 155 and 145 pounds, and scoring consecutive knockout wins over future Hall of Famers Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, and Alexander Volkanovski. He was frequently compared to MMA superstar Conor McGregor, who won championships in those same divisions.
Diaz famously handed McGregor his first UFC loss in 2016, and he sees Topuria as having had a similar career arc so far.
“They made a big deal out of him just like they did off Conor when he started coming,” Diaz said. “You get a little early pump-up before you’ve been in a real fight, that’s what happened to him. He got into a real fight with Justin Gaethje, and now look at you.”
Diaz is coming off of his first MMA fight in four years, having lost to Mike Perry at the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano event this past May. The 41-year-old former UFC star has dabbled in boxing as well, and looks to resume fighting someplace, somewhere in 2027.
“A hundred percent,” Diaz said when asked if he will fight for Ki MMA. “Especially if there’s a ring involved. I’m going to be fighting everywhere for a cool minute.”
“I’m trying to come up and see, no one’s that impressive right now,” he added. “For the moment, there’s impressive people out there for sure, but none’s that impressive at the moment. I’m going to be out until, I’m going to say, January, minimum. Before halfway through the year I would like to fight next year, but I’m trying to get active, at least two fights next year, but I’m trying to get some shit done. I’m trying to whip some motherf*cking ass.”
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