Ilia Topuria’s toughest moment in the Octagon came against a name few would have expected.
Dana White recently addressed the possibility of Topuria facing the winner of the UFC 324 main event for the interim lightweight title.
The current champion at 155 pounds is on a break to deal with personal matters before returning to action.
Even though ‘El Matador’ has not fought much lately, his outings have been so dominant that he has quickly built a legendary resume.
Topuria has even been tipped to become a three-division champion, but his first move up in weight did not exactly go according to plan.
Jai Herbert reflects on toughest fight in the UFC
Jai Herbert’s last outing ended in a controversial defeat, continuing a run where he has been trading wins and losses, along with a draw thrown in.
The lightweight veteran has been tested plenty of times over his nine-fight UFC career, facing some serious competition along the way.
Back in 2022, Herbert nearly pulled off a result that would have made headlines everywhere. He dropped Topuria with a head kick in the first round but could not quite finish him.
The Spaniard, making his debut at 155 pounds, managed to survive the early trouble and then came back to knock Herbert out in the second round.
Speaking on The Pezzadox Show, Herbert was asked about the toughest fighters he has gone up against during his career.
He mentioned Turkish fighter Erdi Karatas from their Cage Warriors bout in 2018 before naming Francisco Trinaldo as his toughest opponent inside the Octagon.
The Englishman recalled: “[Francisco] Trinaldo from Brazil, he was my debut in the UFC.
“I was close to finishing him. I dropped him with a good shot, I was kneeing him, cut him and that, but he was just rough, man. Tough guy, brute. I was like, ‘Bloody hell’ when I was hitting him and that.”
The fight ended with Herbert being knocked out by Trinaldo in the third round. The stoppage became a talking point after Dan Hardy called out referee Herb Dean for not stepping in sooner.
Ilia Topuria said he was ‘reborn’ after surviving Jai Herbert knockdown in 2022
Speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri in 2023, Topuria opened up about being knocked down by Herbert at UFC London.
Already making a name for himself at featherweight, ‘El Matador’ showed incredible resilience to come back and finish the fight with a knockout.
“That was the hardest strike I’ve ever taken in my experience in the cage,” Topuria admitted.
“Yeah, without any doubt. I didn’t see that kick coming, you know. I didn’t see that, I have to give Jai his credit, he caught me with a really good head kick which, it’s not easy to catch me with. He did a great job but I was reborn in this fight, as the son of God was.”
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