Ilia Topuria backed for superstardom by Daniel Cormier after incredible 2024

UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has been backed to reach the next level in 2025 by UFC commentator and former two-weight champ Daniel Cormier.

As we know, Ilia Topuria was one of the breakout stars in mixed martial arts last year. In addition to knocking out Alexander Volkanovski to claim the belt, he was able to become the first man to finish Max Holloway. As far as good years go, that’s pretty up there.

For Ilia Topuria, it’s a case of figuring out what he wants to do next. Will he continue to fend off challengers at 145 pounds, or will he make the shift up to lightweight?

In a recent podcast appearance, Daniel Cormier gave his thoughts on the rise of the Spaniard – as well as what could be next for him.

Daniel Cormier backs Ilia Topuria for greatness

“You have to beat the prior generation to take from it,” Cormier told MMA Junkie. “It’s like (professional) wrestling. The old champion gets pinned by the new champion to build. That’s why The Ultimate Warrior pinned Hulk Hogan, and Hulk Hogan didn’t like to get pinned. But they needed him to get the rub, and now what Ilia is going to do is take a lot of that shine from Volkanovski and Max – especially if Volk gets a rematch and he beats him again – into what will become a global superstar.”

“I think he’s still got work to do at 145,” Cormier said. “Unfortunately, he’s going to beat the guys that sell early, so he’s going to have to carry Diego Lopes, he’s going to have to carry Evloev to numbers. Because the numbers in the weight class now for the last nine years have belonged to Volkanovski and Holloway. He’s going to have to carry those new guys because they don’t have the cache that these last two had.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie