By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Sport PluseSport Pluse
  • Home
  • Football
  • NFL
  • NBA
  • Mlb
  • Nhl
  • MMA
  • Racing
  • Rugby
Reading: MMA Fighting’s 2024 Fighter of the Year: Ilia Topuria
Share
Notification Show More
Sport PluseSport Pluse
  • Home
  • Football
  • NFL
  • NBA
  • Mlb
  • Nhl
  • MMA
  • Racing
  • Rugby
Follow US
© 2024 All Rights reserved | Powered by Sportpluse
Sport Pluse > MMA > MMA Fighting’s 2024 Fighter of the Year: Ilia Topuria
MMA

MMA Fighting’s 2024 Fighter of the Year: Ilia Topuria

December 30, 2024 12 Min Read
Share
MMA Fighting’s 2024 Fighter of the Year: Ilia Topuria
SHARE

Table of Contents

Toggle
  • 2. Alex Pereira
  • 3. Dricus du Plessis
  • 4. Joaquin Buckley
  • 5. Alexandre Pantoja
  • Right here is how voting for MMA Preventing’s 2024 Fighter of the 12 months performed out
  • HONORABLE MENTIONS

Ilia Topuria. Alex Pereira. That’s it, that’s your race for 2024 Fighter of the 12 months.

And it’s as shut as they arrive.

Let’s begin with Topuria, MMA Preventing’s selection for the most effective performer of the previous calendar 12 months and, let’s be frank, the proprietor of probably the greatest two-fight runs in MMA historical past. Topuria didn’t simply declare a UFC championship this 12 months; he’s already put himself on monitor to be the most effective featherweight fighter of all time.

That’s not hyperbole. He actually simply beat two of the three greatest fighters to ever compete at 145 kilos, and until Jose Aldo begins feeling froggy and decides to return to the division, that’s pretty much as good because it will get. If something, saying he beat Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway isn’t hyperbolic sufficient: he destroyed Volkanovski and Holloway in historic trend.

First, there was Volkanovski, who entered UFC 298 this previous February with the UFC featherweight title round his waist. True, Volkanovski was coming off of a disappointing head kick loss to light-weight champion Islam Makhachev, however he wasn’t far faraway from a one-sided beatdown of Yair Rodriguez and an exciting five-round duel with Makhachev of their first assembly that received our 2023 Battle of the 12 months award. Suffice to say, there was no purpose to consider Volkanovski had fallen off within the slightest in a weight class he’d by no means misplaced in.

See also  Jack Della Maddalena ready to avenge Alexander Volkanovski, welcomes Islam Makhachev fight after UFC 315

By no means, till he bumped into Topuria.

Within the second spherical of their headlining bout, Topuria splattered Volkanovski towards the cage after connecting with a lightning-fast mixture. Once more, Volkanovski had by no means misplaced at featherweight, a lot much less been laid out like this. It was surprising. Beautiful. Really one thing followers hadn’t seen earlier than. And given Topuria’s undefeated report and what we find out about him now, inevitable.

If, by some likelihood, one was inclined to brush off the Volkanovski KO on account of supposed lingering results from Makhachev’s head kick, there was no doable criticism that may very well be levied towards his subsequent knockout of Holloway.

Regardless of having shared the cage with the likes of Aldo, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, The Korean Zombie, Jeremy Stephens, and numerous different hard-hitters, nobody had managed to place Holloway down. Gaethje was the one one to attain a knockdown, a second so surprising that the official scoring did not register it.

So Topuria did the unimaginable. Once more. He cracked Holloway’s chin, a number of instances, leaving referee Marc Goddard no selection however to step in and, sure, wave off the bout on account of strikes. To Max Holloway falling to strikes.

Nonetheless can’t consider it.

So there’s the case for Topuria. Whenever you’re the person to beat in one of many three deepest divisions in MMA, and you bought there by annihilating two legends, what else can that add as much as however No. 1?

2. Alex Pereira

Alex Pereira isn’t the 2024 Fighter of the 12 months.

Sounds form of humorous, doesn’t it?

All Pereira did was give the landmark UFC 300 occasion a correct headliner and knock out Jamahal Hill; then he jumped proper again within the cage two months later to avoid wasting the UFC 303 foremost occasion and knock out Jiri Prochazka; then he wanted rather less than three months to headline yet one more time at UFC 307 and knock out Khalil Rountree Jr. Discover the sample?

UFC 303: Pereira v Prochazka 2

Jiri Prochazka and Alex Pereira
Photograph by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photos

If Topuria objectively had the extra spectacular in-cage accomplishments, Pereira was clearly the individuals’s selection for this award as “Chama”-Mania unfold throughout America, with followers ravenous to see what matchup he’d ebook subsequent and fantasy reserving him towards each opponent 185 kilos and up. In truth, it doesn’t matter who Pereira fights subsequent: He’s the A-side now.

Nobody within the UFC brings the identical degree of pleasure to an enormous battle, with “Poatan” liable to flatten any man standing throughout from him within the blink of a watch. He additionally appears to carry out the most effective (see: Rountree Jr., Khalil) and the worst (see: Hill, Jamahal) in his opponents, guaranteeing that additional degree of intrigue that makes a star a star.

It’s unclear what’s subsequent for Pereira, even with No. 1 contender Magomed Ankalaev seemingly the plain selection, however what we will all agree on is that each one eyes are on him no matter he decides to do.

3. Dricus du Plessis

In every other 12 months, Dricus du Plessis would have been the runaway winner for Fighter of the 12 months. Heck, he began off his 2024 marketing campaign by spoiling the primary title protection of our 2023 Fighter of the 12 months, Sean Strickland.

It wasn’t a dominant efficiency by any means, and had been it not for a pair of thrilling remaining rounds, it might doubtless be remembered for the meandering opening quarter-hour, however none of that issues: Du Plessis was formally a UFC champion when the curtain closed on UFC 297.

This shouldn’t have been an amazing shock given the South African’s 6-0 UFC report, together with a one-sided beatdown of Robert Whittaker, however du Plessis’ unpredictable, unorthodox, and downright funky type simply didn’t scream champion within the eyes of many. And but, he retains discovering a option to win.

When he stepped into the cage with Israel Adesanya, a two-time middleweight champion, the stylistic matchup ought to have favored Adesanya and the bout ought to have restored order within the division. As a substitute, du Plessis swung his chaos hammer to nice impact as soon as extra and have become the primary fighter to power Adesanya to faucet out.

UFC 305 Perth

Israel Adesanya and Dricus du Plessis
Photograph by Paul Kane/Getty Photos

Two wins towards two top-5 opponents, and that’s solely ok for second runner-up? High spot or not, this was a run to recollect.

4. Joaquin Buckley

Trying again now, it’s in all probability troublesome for a few of you to recollect how down Joaquin Buckley’s inventory was simply seven months in the past.

Regardless of clearly placing his profession again heading in the right direction with a well timed drop again all the way down to welterweight, Buckley almost derailed the entire rattling factor with an absurd callout of Conor McGregor after beating Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC St. Louis. Full with what would kindly be described as an try at an Irish accent, Buckley delivered one of the misguided and pointless challenges ever, leading to widespread ridicule and bewilderment.

UFC Fight Night: Buckley v Ruziboev

Joaquin Buckley
Photograph by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC through Getty Photos

One way or the other, it bought worse. Buckley went on to feud with Cub Swanson and Daniel Cormier, a pair of beloved elder statesmen who 1) weren’t really obtainable to ever battle Buckley within the cage and a pair of) had Buckley hopelessly outgunned within the court docket of public opinion. At this level, it regarded like Buckley was sabotaging himself as some form of avant-garde efficiency artwork piece, that was the one affordable clarification for it.

Luckily for Buckley, his anti-promotion didn’t get in the way in which of his performances as he went on to knock out Stephen Thompson after which adopted that with a logical callout of Kamaru Usman. Now we had been getting someplace. Buckley capped off a 4-0 marketing campaign with a one-sided whupping of Colby Covington, then talked about Usman, Leon Edwards, and Belal Muhammad as potential opponents, a lot to the delight of the group in UFC Tampa.

There may need been a number of extra completed fighters than Buckley, however nobody flipped their popularity the other way up as efficiently as he did, and now he’s poised to problem for gold in 2025.

5. Alexandre Pantoja

Alexandre Pantoja may be the most effective fighter on this planet. Don’t blame him if he’d already executed the majority of his most notable work earlier than a UFC belt was even round his waist.

UFC 310: Pantoja v Asakura

Alexandre Pantoja
Photograph by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Extra eyes had been on Pantoja this 12 months than ever earlier than, which might be why there was some disappointment when it got here to his two title challengers. Steve Erceg was a pleasant story, having earned a title shot seemingly as a result of Pantoja wanted an opponent to headline UFC 301 in Brazil, however didn’t precisely have the popularity of a pound-for-pound nice. And Kai Asakura was a hardcore fan favourite on account of his exploits in RIZIN, however he was additionally granted a title shot with zero UFC fights on his report.

You possibly can solely battle who’s in entrance of you, and whereas Erceg and Asakura don’t have the identical title worth as Volkanovski, Holloway, Poirier, Prochazka, Strickland, and Adesanya, there’s nothing Pantoja can do about that, particularly contemplating he already holds a number of wins over the 125 elite. He received an thrilling scrap with Erceg after which shut down the intriguing Asakura, excelling to the purpose that followers had been debating whether or not Demetrious Johnson ought to finish his latest retirement to take his shot at Pantoja.

“Mighty Mouse” flatly denied having any curiosity in preventing once more, however whenever you’re being talked about in the identical breath because the all-time greatest in your division, you recognize you’re doing one thing proper.

Right here is how voting for MMA Preventing’s 2024 Fighter of the 12 months performed out

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Dakota Ditcheva

Diego Lopes

Merab Dvalishvili

Belal Muhammad

Carlos Prates

You Might Also Like

“Not That Guy” Sean Strickland Criticized By UFC Veteran for Failing to Deliver on “Fight to the Death” Promise

Paige VanZant Leaked the Secret to Her Fighter-Ready Body. Find Out Her Full Training Plan

Jamal Ben Saddik Sentenced to 40 Months in Prison for Money Laundering and Forgery Over €1 Million

Bruno Silva puts career on hold after UFC release, ‘at peace’ if he never fights again

Brazilian Radar: Aieza Bertolso choke-out tops action-heavy MMA weekend

TAGGED:MMAMMA FightsMMA News
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

Morning Report: Michael Bisping asks if Ilia Topuria is ‘pulling a Jon Jones’ by not fighting Arman Tsarukyan
Morning Report: Michael Bisping asks if Ilia Topuria is ‘pulling a Jon Jones’ by not fighting Arman Tsarukyan
MMA
Tottenham flag
Sources: Tottenham star edges closes to glamorous MLS move
Football
December 23rd: Monday’s Daily Double – 5/1 Special, Betting Tips & Predictions
July 30th: Wednesday’s Champions League Double – 4/1 Special, Betting Tips & Predictions
Football
Newcastle eye superstar Real Madrid target in huge post-Isak spending spree
Newcastle eye superstar Real Madrid target in huge post-Isak spending spree
Football
Philadelphia 76ers fans 'might cringe' as key player is named the top trade chip in the NBA
Philadelphia 76ers fans ‘might cringe’ as key player is named the top trade chip in the NBA
NBA
sportpluse sportpluse
sportpluse sportpluse

At Sportpluse, we believe sports are more than just games—they are a universal language that inspires, unites, and ignites passion.

Quick Links

  • Football
  • Mlb News
  • MMA News
  • NBA News
  • NFL News
  • Nhl News
  • Racing News
  • Rugby News
  • NFL News
  • Nhl News
  • Racing News
  • Rugby News

Legal Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Quick Links

“Is he worth signing?” – Leeds United legend doesn’t believe Farke needs 30-year-old midfielder
Battle on: Arsenal & Tottenham both ready to trigger €58m transfer deal
Former Rivals Valentina Shevchenko and Joanna Jędrzejczyk Unite Ahead of UFC 315 Title Fight
© 2024 All Rights reserved | Powered by Sportpluse
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?