Ilia Topuria are the real deal.
The undefeated featherweight showed that he is still the best with an impressive performance against Bryce Mitchell, before wrapping up an arm-triangle choke for the win over the noted ground specialist in UFC ‘s opening bout.
The stoppage came at 3:10 in the second round after Mitchell was forced to tap with Topuria locking on the fight-ending choke.
“I want a title fight next if not … let’s do UFC Spain,” Topuria said afterwards. Before I entered, I had already known that I could beat him on the mat and be able to stand up anywhere. He was a good guy, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to take him down. I knew that I was better than him on the ground and I show it to everyone.”
A powerhouse on the feet, Topuria cracked Mitchell with a stiff combination early followed by a calf-kick that took the Arkansas native off his feet momentarily. That kick forced Mitchell to actually switch stances to take the target away from Topuria before then trying to close the distance to look for the takedown.
Topuria did a great job of defending the wrestling. Mitchell was eventually able to drag the fight down to the ground but was not able to mount much offense from the top.
As the second round got underway, Topuria was throwing heat behind every punch and that led to a huge shot landing that sat Mitchell down on the canvas. Topuria kept going at it, blasting Mitchell with his hammers and threatening to take him down until he was able to bully his way into a victory.
From there, Topuria saw the opening for the arm triangle choke and as soon as he latched onto the submission, Mitchell didn’t have much choice but to tap out and end the fight.
Topuria was already considered a future contender at 145 pounds but this win solidifies him as a legitimate threat to anyone in the division. It’s likely he’ll be staring down an even bigger fight in his next appearance in the UFC.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/10/23503599/ufc-282-results-ilia-topuria-dispatches-bryce-mitchell-with-nasty-arm-triangle-choke-in-second-round?rand=96749
