American Kickboxing Academy coach Javier Mendez believes Ilia Topuria currently holds the crown for the best boxing in MMA — but also sees a path to beating the undefeated champion.
Over the past few years, Topuria has rapidly climbed to the top of the pound-for-pound list, relying heavily on his elite striking. In 2024, he became the first man to knock out Max Holloway and later stopped Charles Oliveira to claim the vacant lightweight title — cementing himself as the first undefeated dual-division UFC champion.
Speaking on The Know Time YouTube channel, Mendez couldn’t help but praise Topuria’s skills.
“Stay out of boxing range, one million percent,” Mendez said. “He’s got the best boxing in the business, in MMA. His boxing is so good that he even thinks he can beat Terence Crawford — that’s how confident he is. His boxing is real good.”
Before moving to lightweight, Topuria had teased a superfight with then-champion Islam Makhachev, one of Mendez’s top students. While that fight never happened, it remains one of the most discussed potential matchups in MMA.
If it ever takes place, Mendez believes the key is to exploit Topuria’s limited weaknesses:
“You’d need to work your kicks, angles with him. Knees. Muay Thai would be a good specialty. Keep him away from you. He’s got decent wrestling and jiu-jitsu, but the weakest link on him would be the kicking area. Test him there, and in the grappling exchanges.”
Topuria hasn’t fought since his lightweight title win at UFC 317, but rumors suggest his next title defense could happen early next year. Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev is gearing up for his welterweight title challenge at UFC 322, and if both men continue winning, their paths could finally cross in what would be one of the most anticipated fights in modern UFC history.
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