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Topuria has appeared nearly flawless so far, with 15 finishes in his 17 career wins. “El Matador” is undoubtedly one of the best boxers in MMA, often landing combinations like a traditional pugilists. Mendez considers Topuria to be the best boxer in MMA and advises opponents to stay out of his boxing range. Mendez also believes Topuria’s wrestling is decent, as is his jiu-jitsu — per reports from his training partners. While Mendez sees Topuria as a nearly complete fighter, the American Kickboxing Academy head coach notices one flaw in the UFC lightweight champ. Mendez believes there is the chance of exploiting Topuria’s weak kicking game. Mendez also believes one can test their grappling against Topuria since the Georgian-Spaniard is yet to face an elite grappler.
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’We’re Yet to See How Great He Is’
“I would say, with him, stay out of boxing range, 1 million percent,” Mendez told Know Time. “He’s got the best boxing in the business, in MMA… He’s got decent wrestling. From people I’ve spoken to that have trained with him he’s got decent jiu-jitsu also. So he’s almost a complete package but he’s not. He lacks the kicking area. The weakest link on him would be the kicking area, and then you have to test your grappling with him to see if yours is better than his. We’re yet to see how great it is.”
Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to clinch the featherweight title and defended it by handing Max Holloway his first knockout loss. The undefeated knockout artist was originally chasing a lightweight fight against Mendez’s disciple, Islam Makhachev. However, Topuria won the vacant lightweight strap by knocking out Charles Oliveira after Makhachev moved up to welterweight. Topuria is expected to defend his title against Paddy Pimblett or Justin Gaethje next.
Javier Mendez Breaks Down Ilia Topuria’s Weaknesses 🥊👀
“I would say with him, stay out of boxing range, 1 million percent. He’s got the best boxing in the business.” He adds, “The weakest link on him would be the kicking area, and then you have to test your grappling with… pic.twitter.com/E4NvgtXyp6
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 20, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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