In an exclusive interview with Telecomasia.net, top UFC middleweight Roman Dolidze shared his thoughts on the recent success of lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, who has made history as the first Georgian fighter to top the UFC P4P rankings.
Ilia's success is incredibly important for Georgia and for the history of Georgian MMA. I was there during his fight with Charles Oliveira, and I wholeheartedly want to congratulate both Topuria and the Georgian people. Is it fair that Ilia surpassed Islam Makhachev in the UFC P4P rankings? That’s a difficult question. Of course, as a Georgian, I’m very happy and proud of Ilia’s achievement, but these rankings are determined by people, and I’m not sure what criteria they use.
“I’m thrilled that Topuria is at the top of the P4P list. These rankings show who the strongest fighter is today. If I’m not mistaken, they are compiled by various journalists and analysts, so we tend to trust the opinions of knowledgeable and experienced people. Ilia is currently leading the rankings, so he is the strongest fighter in the UFC right now, no doubt about it," Dolidze stated.
On June 29, Ilia Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira in the first round of the main event at UFC 317, becoming the new lightweight champion of the organization.
“El Matador” has a record of 17 wins with no losses. On July 1, Topuria went to the top of the UFC P4P rankings, surpassing Russian fighter Islam Makhachev.
