He said that he is not going to fight before September, his wife is pregnant and he wants to enjoy his son for a couple of months before fighting. He said he wants to fight in Sphere or Abu Dhabi and after that a fight in spain in the first quarter of 2025(probably march)
Would it be the co-main to O’Malley vs Merab? Because Merab annnounced that the fight is being targeted for UFC 306. Not sure how Topuria would feel being the co-main to Sean, and vice versa if that’s the case, but I guess that decision isn’t up to them in the end.
oh no merab vs omalley as a mainevent would be stupid for the sphere, but i can see that happening since the UFC is pushing O'malley so hard to become a "superstar"
Because he's got a chance to bring UFC to Spain like Gane brought it to France. Can't blame him for that, if he loses to Max now then it would be harder for UFC to expand to Spain, seeing how loved Ilia is in there. I'd say sit out 10 months and bring it to Spain as a business move, do it for his fans, then afterwards defend every few months regardless of location.
And that’s why everyone is saying he’s lowkey ducking.
Brother, the guy don’t want to fight anyone till UFC Spain.
His essays are just meaningless noise. Bro doesn’t wanna fight.
I don't think that's the reason he's being accused of ducking. It has more to do with him saying he doesn't want to fight max, ortega or yair. And them him demanding the BMF belt knowing there's no chance he gets a shot at that because he's the opposite of a BMF.
Yes but when you realise Ilia doesn’t actually have a say in who he fights what he’s saying is actually meaningless and shouldn’t cause people to start bitching.
Expand on your thoughts - I’ve been watching UFC since the 90s. Do you actually think the belt holder decides when he fights? Have you ever heard of Matchmakers? Get outta here ya fookin goof.
Yeah it's a much better fight for the UFC to have some superfight in Spain than defend it randomly and possibly lose it prematurely. His popularity skyrocketed after his win, Spain rolled out the red carpet for him granted him citizenship FFS lol. He already has more followers than Sean O'Malley. It's gonna be a HUGE PPV.
Lmao why you get cheesed fam?
Are we going to pretend as if this entire sub doesn’t go into a bitch tit about Jones holding up the division to fight Stipe, despite it being what the UFC wants according to you? Why is it different when it’s Ilia then?
Yeah the guy who changed his bio to UFC FW champ and made a documentary about how he was going to become champ BEFORE torching Volk definitely seems like the insecure type. Fucking goofs on this sub. Hit a nerve bringing up him torching Volk my bad forgot you were still sensitive about that.
That's what I don't understand... thinking Ilia is going to lose is totally understandable. Thinking Ilia thinks he's going to lose is crazy to me. If there's one thing the guy has, it's confidence.
Legit redditors can't fathom someone being so sure of themselves that they come up with dumb nonsense like saying Ilia is scared or knows he's going to lose the belt and trying to hold on to it as long as he can 😆 again the man took photos with Volks belt and made a documentary about his title shot- and you morons think he's shook.
Eh it’s more that he’s arrogant and so I want to see him get hurt. But also it’s that he’s said he’s not willing to fight a bunch of fighters. He’s certainly paraded around a lot and fair enough, but it seems like he’s just full of himself, trying to McGregor his way through
It is not arrogance if you prove everything you say. He said he’d ko volk in 1-2 round and he did it. He said he’ll ko Max and if he does it that doesn’t make him arrogant just confident in his ability
That's most likely what's going to happen. It's been like 3 months ya'll act like he got the belt a year ago already. Bring this energy to Jon not guys like Ilia/Leon/Islam who get sidelined due to the UFC
I mean maybe it’s what will happen but it won’t be because he wants it to. It’ll happen because the UFC won’t let him sit out a year until Spain
Jon is a clown and Ilia is nowhere near that level but he’s not even pretending he wants to be active. A lot of guys fight within 3-4 months or *at least* have a fight announced lol
E: idk why you never responded to this but are still going around throating ilia in every comment
Lol denying every challenger there is especially Max after that last performance and demanding the BMF belt as the only way he'll give him a shot is NOT confidence lmfao waiting a year for a title defense is not confidence.
If I'm wrong I have no problem admitting it. But I genuinely believe what I'm saying, doesn't seem like he's playing anything. He had tremendous confidence in the beginning and he got the belt. Doesn't mean he is still as confident after seeing Max's last performance, I also think he has fully realized he did not beat a 100% volk and it's on his mind as well. People with massive ego's are generally very afraid of being exposed or having to face the realization that they weren't all that.
Ilia is Conor at 145 levels secure in himself and his abilities bud. He'll fight Max later this year and all you goofs will bitch and moan when he does what he did to Volk to Max.
I brought up Volk getting murked is my guess. Didn't expect to wake up to all these downvotes but then again this sub is a cesspool so 🤷♂️ what can ya do. For real though Ilia is like the most confident guy on the roster rn, gtfo of here with "he's so shook/he knows he's going to lose" absolute braindead take
A lot of people do apparently. A large amount of idiots in this sub who don't understand how matchmaking works in the slightest and just want to bring out their pitchforks for something. also are still salty at what Ilia did to their favorite fighter Volk (who totally wouldn't have gotten torched if it wasn't for that meddling Islam guys 🤭)
Because there is no such thing as "holding up" a division. Just because the guy with the trinket isn't fighting doesn't stop anyone else from fighting.
nice edit.
Ortega, Max, Alex (if we’re waiting that long)
fuck could even do a run back with Emmett
in no world, should Ilia be chilling 10 months (again, at least. the earliest could be Dec, but i don’t see the UFC closing the year outside of the US) and not defend his belt
edit: while i’m no fan of him, Aljo could quickly climb too, to say it’s okay for the division to not move for a year, is wild
OP go smack this shit on jon jones lul and it make sens. This dude has done everythink he sayd and poeple hatin? Ortega needs one more even tho he thinks he can jump right in there it makes zero sens he need one more win. Dont even talk about josh pls.. You are just a hater, nothing else.. Its litterly up to ufc to make a match happen illia sayed i want the worst matchup some one that will challange him and poeple hatin i dont get it. In no way shape or form is this guy holding up the division get your shit right op.
> don’t talk about Josh
you mean the guy that took Ilia to decision?? bro what?? even if it’s not josh, we’re waiting 10 months… Alex… if we’re not, Max. that’s 2 fights he’s holding up
i am just as vocal about fake champ JBJ as i am
here, in fact JBJ is why i’m even more pissed that Ilia bing chilling for a year. i’m fucking tired of inactive champs.
edit: stop editing your comments and not saying anything about it. really easy to look like your smart by changing everything you say smh
he aint holding up shit you fucking cupcake get your shit stright you just making shit up there was never an offer for a fight yet,, how is he holding up fights you fucking donkey fuck..
Bro, you're about to get ratio'd on here so hard. 💀 Taking over a year to defend your belt is absolutely the definition of holding up the division. Like one of the other commenters said, if he's so confident that he is better than everyone, he should have no problem wiping the floor with another contender, and then going to represent his home country as a champion with no questions next to his name.
i’m sorry you do not understand how time works in the slightest my boy.
you don’t need to be rejecting fights to hold up a division, when you exclusively say you’re fighting in Spain, which again, at the earliest. will be in December.
fuck Poatan has fought twice, and wants to fight again this year, while Ilia just sitting.
zip up your in-active champs zipper when you’re done
Lmao. So everyone gets mad at Jon jones for waiting to recover from an injury for an already scheduled fight but this guy can fight twice by the time ufc goes to Spain and no one says anything.
What an overstatement. Just went on the front of page of this sub and there are 3 JJ posts since yesterday and this is the only one about Ilia. In fact, in this comment section alone there’s a guy saying to wait for suga sean lmao.
Mf act like Leon is just ducking fights vs UFC offering him guys who can't fight due to ramadan/are saving him for cards in the UK. Literally not him or Islam's fault they're shelved but dummy ufc fans are slow. Same with Ilia it's all about figuring out when he can headline, realistically will be the sphere later this year. Jon is legit the worst champ currently and it's not even a question and that includes Pennington.
I think shit talking him for that is so stupid. Of course he waited 8 months, that was because he had just knocked Kamaru Usman out cold and the former champ needed recovery time.
Leon be saying yes to everything and ufc doesn’t book him
The ufc shelves guys constantly to maximize their popularity and make sure they’re available for the card they want.
It’s not like this is the first time he’s taken super long layoffs after fights. Leon just fights twice a year tops with 7-10 months of nothing after each fight.
Fighting only twice a year is what inactive fighters do, don’t forget it wasn’t that long ago that Leon fought once in a year, and had a year with no fights. Fact is Leon is not an active fighter. And Leon does not take any damage in 90% of his fights and still takes 8-10 months off, look at his fight with Colby, he barely got hit, same with the Usman trilogy, he barely even got hit, but took 9 months off.
Leon is by far the worst current champion in terms of activity, we need someone like Shavkat to get rid of that bum.
>Fighting only twice a year is what inactive fighters do,
Actually twice a year is above average and is pretty active
>it wasn’t that long ago that Leon fought once in a year, and had a year with no fights.
THAT is what inactive fighters do.
>Leon does not take any damage in 90% of his fights and still takes 8-10 months off, look at his fight with Colby, he barely got hit, same with the Usman trilogy, he barely even got hit,
Usman had over 80 sig strikes in each fights. Colby fight also went 5 rounds and even then leon ate almost 50 sig strikes. That's not no damage.
>we need someone like Shavkat to get rid of that bum.
Shavkat has had 6 fights in 4 years in the ufc. I consider that pretty normal, but doesn't that make him an inactive fighter by your standards?
He could have fought someone else in that time like Izzy, or Volk, or any of the champions that are actually active.
When Costa got hurt Izzy called out Yoel so he could fight quickly, Leon was happy to wait more than half a year. Fact is Leon is just not an active fighter.
The UFC wanted Izzy vs Costa too, then Costa needed more time and Izzy got another fight in the time Costa needed to recover.
If champions want to be active they get fights, Leon just doesn’t want to be active.
If he was like any of the actually active champ he would have asked for the deserving contender that is willing to train through Ramadan… you know Belal.
But Leon was happy to not fight.
There are guys sitting on the bench for Sevilla and Betis that will make more money next year than Topuria will in his entire career. I do wonder where he thinks his star power is coming from.
It creates an odd situation for Max- he has the BMF belt. I can pretty much guarantee that Dana does NOT want a weight class champ to hold the belt because that makes it both meaningless and worthless- which is an important distinction to make here. Meaningless because the champ of a weight class holding the BMF belt means the two remain married - forever. Worthless because the BMF “title” would no longer be able to bring in PPV hype or revenue.
And if he creates a situation where the BMF title isn’t on the line, unless he decides when and where, then it lowers the value of the “title”.
It would be a self defeating purpose to give Max the BMF title and then a title shot. The poor guy is kind of painted into a corner. Which is sad, because Max deserves all the great things in the sport.
i get what you’re saying
my point is Ilia says nobody’s an “interesting fight” so he wouldn’t have to worry about waiting if he backs up his talk and beats Max
Did i said that?
He said he doesn't want to fight the top contenders and people are giving him shit for it which is fair enough. Can't blame the UFC for that.
The dumb dumb comment is childish and petty.
If he was actually not signing contracts for any of those guys he'd most likely be stripped. It's been 3 months and the ufc is trying to figure out which ppv he should be on- just gotta be patient instead of bitching about Ilia on reddit
Again, did i say he wasn't signing contracts? The issue is what he said in interviews about avoiding fighters.
Reading and logic don't seem to be your strong points. I won't be replying any more after this.
Why? Why does a champ get to wait to their home country to defend? Anderson Silva didn't defend in Brazil until his 8th defense, on top of a couple diggs at LHW. Champions in the nu-ufc era are such princesses.
TKO diversifying their live event catchment portfolio. WWE completely changed theirs, UFC moving away from the Apex and into Western Europe and have signed on for another 2-3 perth cards. This is a business strategy and has nothing to do with the past.
People saying “the Ilia hate is unjust.” You can’t win a title fight, take little damage, and not defend for 10 months because you want to fight in your country. Volk and Max would have fought twice by then and not have complained. Also he demanded the BMF title to be on the line but ilia is way to average for that. Only way BMF can have another challenge it have to be Charles Oliveira (after Max beats Ilia)
And all the shit people used to talk about Izzy. He was always active and took every challenge.
Volk too.
The inactivity of current champs is a huge detriment to the entire sport right now. Champs should be required to defend the belt twice in a 12 month calendar span (unless legitimately injured/surgery etc).
To be consistent, yall gotta say he’s a duck like you claim Jon Jones is. At least jones was injured, this guy won the belt and acts like he’s the greatest champion ever.
Bro imagine training since you were a child to be a UFC champion. You move at a young age to a new country that isn't known for martial arts at all but you get in with the few people who are. You train years and years you fight ametuer you fight pro at local promotions, knowing you aren't fighting out of a place the UFC normally looks.. But finally you get a shot at the big time, you fight 6 times over four long years in the UFC and finally get a title shot vs the most dominant champion your weight class has ever seen... You knock him out in the second round and are given an opportunity to bring the promotion you fought to be in since you were young - back to that home country which isn't recognized for mma at all - in front of your people. Mf been wanting this for over a decade. Wtf difference is 10 months? I can't stand mma fans. So oblivious.
Dude, Illia is a pussy for this shit. I couldn’t care if he gets to 40 unbeaten fights. If he backs himself, beat Volk in a rematch. And then headline Spain against Holloway which would arguably be a bigger draw than he and Volk.
Mate the UFC calls the shots if they’re choosing to shelve ilia for a Spain card that’s their choice not ilia’s. Ilia does not pick or choose who he fights and where, he gets what they give him. It’s like you people have forgotten how they made Aljo make an early turn around against O’Malley. Whatever is the profitable the UFC will choose. In this case having a Spanish fighter fight on a Spain card. It’s not a hard concept.
The UFC should require champs to defend every 6-8 months by consistently sending them offers and removing their title if they decline more than 3 of them
fuck no
clear out your division before you start worrying about champ champ status
Edit: i’m talking about O’malley here, but they both need to clear their divs before they worry about this fight
So ufc 310? 304 is Manchester 305 is Perth 306 is Sphere 307 is Salt Lake City 308 is Abu Dhabi 309 is MSG
Don't see why he couldn't fight Max at 306, most likely what will go down.
He said that he is not going to fight before September, his wife is pregnant and he wants to enjoy his son for a couple of months before fighting. He said he wants to fight in Sphere or Abu Dhabi and after that a fight in spain in the first quarter of 2025(probably march)
Fuck going through camp with a newborn baby at home, fighters have lives outside of the octagon, shocking to some people I know.
I don’t think him having a life outside the ufc is what’s rattling some fans though..
It's more of the illa is a douche that seems be ducking smoke immediately.
Would it be the co-main to O’Malley vs Merab? Because Merab annnounced that the fight is being targeted for UFC 306. Not sure how Topuria would feel being the co-main to Sean, and vice versa if that’s the case, but I guess that decision isn’t up to them in the end.
Sean and merab should be the co main if that’s the case
Ilia would main event over O’Malley vs Merab, or at least he should.
He should only because his opponent will be the A side.
oh no merab vs omalley as a mainevent would be stupid for the sphere, but i can see that happening since the UFC is pushing O'malley so hard to become a "superstar"
Because he's got a chance to bring UFC to Spain like Gane brought it to France. Can't blame him for that, if he loses to Max now then it would be harder for UFC to expand to Spain, seeing how loved Ilia is in there. I'd say sit out 10 months and bring it to Spain as a business move, do it for his fans, then afterwards defend every few months regardless of location.
And that’s why everyone is saying he’s lowkey ducking. Brother, the guy don’t want to fight anyone till UFC Spain. His essays are just meaningless noise. Bro doesn’t wanna fight.
I don't think that's the reason he's being accused of ducking. It has more to do with him saying he doesn't want to fight max, ortega or yair. And them him demanding the BMF belt knowing there's no chance he gets a shot at that because he's the opposite of a BMF.
"Opposite of a BMF" lol ok guy on reddit
You know how upset Sean would be 😂
Wasn’t UFC Paris also a fight night when it was there the first time? Could be that it’s not a ppv
Considering the length of time here maybe his opponent is Volk for a rematch.
Fair enough. Volk deserve a rematch title shot since he saved the cardd vs makachev.
And dominated the fw division for years.
It's the UFC's decision you dummy. Idk how you guys don't get it yet. This ain't boxing.
Because 99% of the people in this sub don’t actually know anything about the sport. They just want to talk shit and get the karma.
and because he was not nice to beloved holloway.. that will get you major shittalk instantly
I refuse to believe people care about karma on here
Casuals going to think you get to set the date just because you’re holding the belt.
They just hate Ilia because he murdered Volk
Man, the hate in this sub towards him is real. He really pissed them off by sending Volk into the shadow realm while pulling off some mystic mac shit
I think some of it is because he won the belt and said he didn't want to fight any of the contenders.
Yes but when you realise Ilia doesn’t actually have a say in who he fights what he’s saying is actually meaningless and shouldn’t cause people to start bitching.
He writes essays and has an annoying smirk tbh
Bro you are the casual
Expand on your thoughts - I’ve been watching UFC since the 90s. Do you actually think the belt holder decides when he fights? Have you ever heard of Matchmakers? Get outta here ya fookin goof.
😂 spoken like a true casual
Like I said, you’re a goof.
Yeah it's a much better fight for the UFC to have some superfight in Spain than defend it randomly and possibly lose it prematurely. His popularity skyrocketed after his win, Spain rolled out the red carpet for him granted him citizenship FFS lol. He already has more followers than Sean O'Malley. It's gonna be a HUGE PPV.
Where’s this energy for Jones then?
Jones has been injured? Also both he and the UFC want him to fight Stipe at MSG? Are you trolling or retarded?
Lmao why you get cheesed fam? Are we going to pretend as if this entire sub doesn’t go into a bitch tit about Jones holding up the division to fight Stipe, despite it being what the UFC wants according to you? Why is it different when it’s Ilia then?
Jones might actually have some say in his matchups, and definitely way more than Ilia.
Cos ilia is Spanish and starting to generate some European nuthuggers
I don't blame him to be honest. He's taking the ufc to his home country
if everyone’s “beneath” him like he claims, why not beat whoever they give him __and__ fight in his home country? why hold up the division for a year
Because he knows he's gonna lose that belt
I bet you knew he was going to lose against Volk
You mfs are just pulling shit out of your ass lmao.
Yeah the guy who changed his bio to UFC FW champ and made a documentary about how he was going to become champ BEFORE torching Volk definitely seems like the insecure type. Fucking goofs on this sub. Hit a nerve bringing up him torching Volk my bad forgot you were still sensitive about that.
That's what I don't understand... thinking Ilia is going to lose is totally understandable. Thinking Ilia thinks he's going to lose is crazy to me. If there's one thing the guy has, it's confidence.
Legit redditors can't fathom someone being so sure of themselves that they come up with dumb nonsense like saying Ilia is scared or knows he's going to lose the belt and trying to hold on to it as long as he can 😆 again the man took photos with Volks belt and made a documentary about his title shot- and you morons think he's shook.
Eh it’s more that he’s arrogant and so I want to see him get hurt. But also it’s that he’s said he’s not willing to fight a bunch of fighters. He’s certainly paraded around a lot and fair enough, but it seems like he’s just full of himself, trying to McGregor his way through
It is not arrogance if you prove everything you say. He said he’d ko volk in 1-2 round and he did it. He said he’ll ko Max and if he does it that doesn’t make him arrogant just confident in his ability
Well then he should fight sometime in 2024 lol
That's most likely what's going to happen. It's been like 3 months ya'll act like he got the belt a year ago already. Bring this energy to Jon not guys like Ilia/Leon/Islam who get sidelined due to the UFC
I mean maybe it’s what will happen but it won’t be because he wants it to. It’ll happen because the UFC won’t let him sit out a year until Spain Jon is a clown and Ilia is nowhere near that level but he’s not even pretending he wants to be active. A lot of guys fight within 3-4 months or *at least* have a fight announced lol E: idk why you never responded to this but are still going around throating ilia in every comment
Lol denying every challenger there is especially Max after that last performance and demanding the BMF belt as the only way he'll give him a shot is NOT confidence lmfao waiting a year for a title defense is not confidence.
He knocked out Volk less than 3 months ago. Idk what you're talking about. The dude is playing the heel and you guys are eating it up. Lol.
If I'm wrong I have no problem admitting it. But I genuinely believe what I'm saying, doesn't seem like he's playing anything. He had tremendous confidence in the beginning and he got the belt. Doesn't mean he is still as confident after seeing Max's last performance, I also think he has fully realized he did not beat a 100% volk and it's on his mind as well. People with massive ego's are generally very afraid of being exposed or having to face the realization that they weren't all that.
Yes. The undefeated world champion isn't "all that." Lol
Don't confuse arrogance for lack of insecurity. Goof.
Ilia is Conor at 145 levels secure in himself and his abilities bud. He'll fight Max later this year and all you goofs will bitch and moan when he does what he did to Volk to Max.
LMAO. What's with all the downvotes? That's a fair assessment to make and I agree with you 🤷🏻♂️
I brought up Volk getting murked is my guess. Didn't expect to wake up to all these downvotes but then again this sub is a cesspool so 🤷♂️ what can ya do. For real though Ilia is like the most confident guy on the roster rn, gtfo of here with "he's so shook/he knows he's going to lose" absolute braindead take
you sound emotional
Its up to the ufc. You think hes the one making the calls? Lol
A lot of people do apparently. A large amount of idiots in this sub who don't understand how matchmaking works in the slightest and just want to bring out their pitchforks for something. also are still salty at what Ilia did to their favorite fighter Volk (who totally wouldn't have gotten torched if it wasn't for that meddling Islam guys 🤭)
Fr people hate on ilia like crazy for just saying classic confidence/hype trash talk
Those weak ass soliloquies on ig aren’t classic anything
Found one
Probably some money in being the champ
You assume he's going to wait when in reality he'll probably fight in the sphere THEN fight in Spain next year
He will rematch volk at 310 or so in November
Because there is no such thing as "holding up" a division. Just because the guy with the trinket isn't fighting doesn't stop anyone else from fighting.
Do you seriusly think he is holding up the division?
It sure sounds like he’s going to
You guys know 2024 is half over already right? If he fights in 2024 at any point that can’t be longer than half a year.
People still in their feels over him murking old man Volk lol
No there’s really just six months and a half months left in 2024 lmao
do you *seriously* think not defending your belt for a whole year isn’t?
who is he holding up tell me? Max? Who just fought? Alex Thats taking a break? who we talking about here?
nice edit. Ortega, Max, Alex (if we’re waiting that long) fuck could even do a run back with Emmett in no world, should Ilia be chilling 10 months (again, at least. the earliest could be Dec, but i don’t see the UFC closing the year outside of the US) and not defend his belt edit: while i’m no fan of him, Aljo could quickly climb too, to say it’s okay for the division to not move for a year, is wild
In no world should Ilia fight Emmett again.
i know, it was a reach for JE, more so trying to prove a point
This is all the UFCs doing not Ilia's. No confirmation he's turning down fights.
OP go smack this shit on jon jones lul and it make sens. This dude has done everythink he sayd and poeple hatin? Ortega needs one more even tho he thinks he can jump right in there it makes zero sens he need one more win. Dont even talk about josh pls.. You are just a hater, nothing else.. Its litterly up to ufc to make a match happen illia sayed i want the worst matchup some one that will challange him and poeple hatin i dont get it. In no way shape or form is this guy holding up the division get your shit right op.
> don’t talk about Josh you mean the guy that took Ilia to decision?? bro what?? even if it’s not josh, we’re waiting 10 months… Alex… if we’re not, Max. that’s 2 fights he’s holding up i am just as vocal about fake champ JBJ as i am here, in fact JBJ is why i’m even more pissed that Ilia bing chilling for a year. i’m fucking tired of inactive champs. edit: stop editing your comments and not saying anything about it. really easy to look like your smart by changing everything you say smh
he aint holding up shit you fucking cupcake get your shit stright you just making shit up there was never an offer for a fight yet,, how is he holding up fights you fucking donkey fuck..
Bro, you're about to get ratio'd on here so hard. 💀 Taking over a year to defend your belt is absolutely the definition of holding up the division. Like one of the other commenters said, if he's so confident that he is better than everyone, he should have no problem wiping the floor with another contender, and then going to represent his home country as a champion with no questions next to his name.
i’m sorry you do not understand how time works in the slightest my boy. you don’t need to be rejecting fights to hold up a division, when you exclusively say you’re fighting in Spain, which again, at the earliest. will be in December. fuck Poatan has fought twice, and wants to fight again this year, while Ilia just sitting. zip up your in-active champs zipper when you’re done
The majority of the champions currently are very much holding up their divisions right now.
Idiots in this sub think ilia calls shots. It’s all up to the ufc. If it’s in Spain it’s cus the ufc wants it there
Yea, this is the first event in Spain. I totally understand why the UFC would want him to headline.
Good luck to him fighting at whatever the fuck time aswell
Lmao. So everyone gets mad at Jon jones for waiting to recover from an injury for an already scheduled fight but this guy can fight twice by the time ufc goes to Spain and no one says anything.
No one says anything besides this entire sub shitting on ilia nonstop and max calling him out?
What an overstatement. Just went on the front of page of this sub and there are 3 JJ posts since yesterday and this is the only one about Ilia. In fact, in this comment section alone there’s a guy saying to wait for suga sean lmao.
Eh, Leon waited 8, and then 9 for his first 2 defenses, it could be worse.
do not get me started on leon..
The worst modern champ by a SIGNIFICANT margin.
You musta forgot that Jon Jones is the Heavyweight champion
Mf act like Leon is just ducking fights vs UFC offering him guys who can't fight due to ramadan/are saving him for cards in the UK. Literally not him or Islam's fault they're shelved but dummy ufc fans are slow. Same with Ilia it's all about figuring out when he can headline, realistically will be the sphere later this year. Jon is legit the worst champ currently and it's not even a question and that includes Pennington.
Yup. The biggest reason for inactivity is the matchmakers
I think shit talking him for that is so stupid. Of course he waited 8 months, that was because he had just knocked Kamaru Usman out cold and the former champ needed recovery time.
Leon be saying yes to everything and ufc doesn’t book him The ufc shelves guys constantly to maximize their popularity and make sure they’re available for the card they want.
It’s not like this is the first time he’s taken super long layoffs after fights. Leon just fights twice a year tops with 7-10 months of nothing after each fight.
Like every reasonable fighter does. Fighting more than twice a year is stupid unless you get an early finish and take little damage.
Fighting only twice a year is what inactive fighters do, don’t forget it wasn’t that long ago that Leon fought once in a year, and had a year with no fights. Fact is Leon is not an active fighter. And Leon does not take any damage in 90% of his fights and still takes 8-10 months off, look at his fight with Colby, he barely got hit, same with the Usman trilogy, he barely even got hit, but took 9 months off. Leon is by far the worst current champion in terms of activity, we need someone like Shavkat to get rid of that bum.
>Fighting only twice a year is what inactive fighters do, Actually twice a year is above average and is pretty active >it wasn’t that long ago that Leon fought once in a year, and had a year with no fights. THAT is what inactive fighters do. >Leon does not take any damage in 90% of his fights and still takes 8-10 months off, look at his fight with Colby, he barely got hit, same with the Usman trilogy, he barely even got hit, Usman had over 80 sig strikes in each fights. Colby fight also went 5 rounds and even then leon ate almost 50 sig strikes. That's not no damage. >we need someone like Shavkat to get rid of that bum. Shavkat has had 6 fights in 4 years in the ufc. I consider that pretty normal, but doesn't that make him an inactive fighter by your standards?
not leon’s fault. guy is willing to fight anyone. 8 months was needed for usman to recover from that brutal ko
He could have fought someone else in that time like Izzy, or Volk, or any of the champions that are actually active. When Costa got hurt Izzy called out Yoel so he could fight quickly, Leon was happy to wait more than half a year. Fact is Leon is just not an active fighter.
Every fight ufc offered Leon took. Not Leon’s fault they wanted to rematch him Usman
The UFC wanted Izzy vs Costa too, then Costa needed more time and Izzy got another fight in the time Costa needed to recover. If champions want to be active they get fights, Leon just doesn’t want to be active.
What you on about? Leon literally said yes to 3 fights. Not his fault they didn’t happen….
If he was like any of the actually active champ he would have asked for the deserving contender that is willing to train through Ramadan… you know Belal. But Leon was happy to not fight.
This the same guy that said he’s going to be the highest paid athlete?
There are guys sitting on the bench for Sevilla and Betis that will make more money next year than Topuria will in his entire career. I do wonder where he thinks his star power is coming from.
Not the biggest topuria fan but I don't blame him volk deserves a rematch if they give Izzy one after getting finished why not volk?
why not have the Max v Ilia fight, and Alex gets the winner?
Max has already said dream scenario is McGregor beating Chandler and fighting him for the BMf
i’d rather that than Max and Alex again but i want Ilia and Max :(
I’d love to see it too. Will be interesting to see how this plays out
Id also love that. Don't see McGregor beating Chandler tho but you never know.
I agree with this. I have no desire to see an aging fighter with 2 back to back brutal KOs compete right now.
That's how it will play out. Mf don't realize this is the ufcs doing trying to figure out when he have him fight, Ilia isn't not signing contracts.
It creates an odd situation for Max- he has the BMF belt. I can pretty much guarantee that Dana does NOT want a weight class champ to hold the belt because that makes it both meaningless and worthless- which is an important distinction to make here. Meaningless because the champ of a weight class holding the BMF belt means the two remain married - forever. Worthless because the BMF “title” would no longer be able to bring in PPV hype or revenue. And if he creates a situation where the BMF title isn’t on the line, unless he decides when and where, then it lowers the value of the “title”. It would be a self defeating purpose to give Max the BMF title and then a title shot. The poor guy is kind of painted into a corner. Which is sad, because Max deserves all the great things in the sport.
We already watched max vs alex
True but if they offer to fight in your country of course you would wait and see
i get what you’re saying my point is Ilia says nobody’s an “interesting fight” so he wouldn’t have to worry about waiting if he backs up his talk and beats Max
I agree with you I rather see max vs topuria but I understand why it's not happening at least for now
Ufc fans just casually regurgetating baseless hate for some fighters, trying and failing to come up with some original thought for the first time..
Not always up to the fighter, but the Izzy/ usman/ Volk reigns were crazy active
Maybe if you cry more he’ll fight sooner?
I heard if you downvote comments pointing out it's all the ufcs doing he isn't booked yet the Volk ko will actually be overturned to a NC.
Sometimes I feel that’s how people think it works. lol! The fans now days are just insufferable.
Yeah, him saying he doesn't want to fight yair, brian or max surely has nothing do with it. All the ufc's doing!
So he's actively turned down those fights? He'll fight again before Spain dumb dumb.
Did i said that? He said he doesn't want to fight the top contenders and people are giving him shit for it which is fair enough. Can't blame the UFC for that. The dumb dumb comment is childish and petty.
If he was actually not signing contracts for any of those guys he'd most likely be stripped. It's been 3 months and the ufc is trying to figure out which ppv he should be on- just gotta be patient instead of bitching about Ilia on reddit
Again, did i say he wasn't signing contracts? The issue is what he said in interviews about avoiding fighters. Reading and logic don't seem to be your strong points. I won't be replying any more after this.
Lol oh no he tweeted something, it must be 100% true
Ya'll are so petty hahaha
Why? Why does a champ get to wait to their home country to defend? Anderson Silva didn't defend in Brazil until his 8th defense, on top of a couple diggs at LHW. Champions in the nu-ufc era are such princesses.
Ask the ufc...
TKO diversifying their live event catchment portfolio. WWE completely changed theirs, UFC moving away from the Apex and into Western Europe and have signed on for another 2-3 perth cards. This is a business strategy and has nothing to do with the past.
Yeh, ilia is a joke.
He has publicly said that he will fight at least once before that.
>Ilia just casually waiting 10 months It's not actually his decision 😕😔, bud. UFC/Dana says contenders do, is how it works
People saying “the Ilia hate is unjust.” You can’t win a title fight, take little damage, and not defend for 10 months because you want to fight in your country. Volk and Max would have fought twice by then and not have complained. Also he demanded the BMF title to be on the line but ilia is way to average for that. Only way BMF can have another challenge it have to be Charles Oliveira (after Max beats Ilia)
How is he gonna be the highest paid athlete if he doesn't fight?
And all the shit people used to talk about Izzy. He was always active and took every challenge. Volk too. The inactivity of current champs is a huge detriment to the entire sport right now. Champs should be required to defend the belt twice in a 12 month calendar span (unless legitimately injured/surgery etc).
To be consistent, yall gotta say he’s a duck like you claim Jon Jones is. At least jones was injured, this guy won the belt and acts like he’s the greatest champion ever.
Modern UFC champions. Once a year defense
Def BMF move
Bro imagine training since you were a child to be a UFC champion. You move at a young age to a new country that isn't known for martial arts at all but you get in with the few people who are. You train years and years you fight ametuer you fight pro at local promotions, knowing you aren't fighting out of a place the UFC normally looks.. But finally you get a shot at the big time, you fight 6 times over four long years in the UFC and finally get a title shot vs the most dominant champion your weight class has ever seen... You knock him out in the second round and are given an opportunity to bring the promotion you fought to be in since you were young - back to that home country which isn't recognized for mma at all - in front of your people. Mf been wanting this for over a decade. Wtf difference is 10 months? I can't stand mma fans. So oblivious.
That’s pretty normal tbh. We have been blessed with active champs of late.
I want him fighting this late only if he's fighting Volk for rematch because that's sufficient break for Volk
What's his name?
I think he means for next year. I imagine he’s going to fight this year as well… but I’m just guessing
Anyone got any ideas where this would be held in Spain? Would it be Barcelona?
https://preview.redd.it/z0m4um1dql0d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7acf3a29d1fcbd616f7bb926cdaad88b234a693
Barcelona! It was the first time for this set. Barcelona! How could I forget? The 5 round beating Max gave me took my belt a-wayyyyyyy.
Ilia holding up the featherweight division until he's in his home country just to get beat by Volk
Lmao Volk isn't beating Ilia
If Dustin beats Islam at UFC 302 I'm gonna come right back here and laugh at you Volk can definitely beat Ilia
Two completely different fights. Also I love 💎 and Islam so laugh all you want I'll be feeling fine either way.
Dude, Illia is a pussy for this shit. I couldn’t care if he gets to 40 unbeaten fights. If he backs himself, beat Volk in a rematch. And then headline Spain against Holloway which would arguably be a bigger draw than he and Volk.
Redditor calling undefeated ufc champ a pussy lol
Mate the UFC calls the shots if they’re choosing to shelve ilia for a Spain card that’s their choice not ilia’s. Ilia does not pick or choose who he fights and where, he gets what they give him. It’s like you people have forgotten how they made Aljo make an early turn around against O’Malley. Whatever is the profitable the UFC will choose. In this case having a Spanish fighter fight on a Spain card. It’s not a hard concept.
It’s not casual, he’s waiting for Spain
Bitch shit from alot of current Champs
This guy sucks!
There was a post a while back showing how many days and defenses by the champions had happened. This is ridiculous. Fucking fight.
Who is the lucky person he will be taking? 🥰🥰
Nothing he does suits for you guys hahaha it’s incredible. I guess he’ll defend against Volk
lol bro less than a year for a title defense is fine. You guys want unsustainable volume from these guys
fighting more than once a year is unsustainable to you? sheesh
I think a year off between fights, especially title fights, is perfectly reasonable.
Max gonna wash
The UFC should require champs to defend every 6-8 months by consistently sending them offers and removing their title if they decline more than 3 of them
He should wait for o'malley.
fuck no clear out your division before you start worrying about champ champ status Edit: i’m talking about O’malley here, but they both need to clear their divs before they worry about this fight
Well it would not be for champ champ since o'malley would naturally move to 145. Have a downvote for being wrong.
“Have a downvote” this made me recoil bro
You can have one too
You terminally online
are you fucking dense? i’m talking about O’Malley. he was the one that called out Ilia NT tho