Ex-UFC champion explains why Ilia Topuria deserves 'Fighter of the Year' over Alex Pereira: "There is no questions to be asked"

A former UFC fighter recently weighed in on why Ilia Topuria should be considered the 'Fighter of the Year' over Alex Pereira. The individual sided with Topuria, pointing out that 'El Matador' faced tougher opponents than Pereira.

The person in question is UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, who marked his presence at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi as a commentator alongside Jon Anik and Paul Felder. Following the event, Cormier uploaded a video on his YouTube, explaining why Topuria deserved to be called 'Fighter of the Year' more than Pereira.

Cormier highlighted that despite Pereira competing thrice this year and securing vicious knockout wins over two former champions, he will still lean towards Topuria, as the 27-year-old defeated two of the best featherweight fighters ever.

Cormier said:

''The Fighter of the Year conversation felt like it was over. Like, Alex Pereira was the guy that was the Fighter of the Year, no questions asked. That’s not the case. I think that these two wins singularly are as good as any two wins anybody can have, no disrespect to Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree. [Topuria] just beat the two best fighters of the generation prior, but they’re still in this generation, because they’re both very, very young. He just beat two of the greatest featherweights of all time.''

He added:

''Ilia Topuria is the Fighter of the Year. He is the Fighter of the Year, and in my opinion, there is no questions to be asked. That result makes it true.''

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below (3:26):

Topuria captured the featherweight title from Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February. He then defended his title by securing a third-round knockout win against Max Hollway at UFC 308.

Meanwhile, Pereira headlined UFC 300, UFC 303, and UFC 307, where he knocked out Jamahal Hill, Jiri Prochazka, and Khalil Rountree Jr. respectively.

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Alexander Volkanovski thinks it is difficult to pick 'Fighter of the Year' between Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira

Following his successful title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 308, Ilia Topuria has joined Alex Pereira in the running for the 'Fighter of the Year' award.

During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Alexander Volkanovski, who faced Topuria earlier this year, shared his thoughts on who would be the fighter of the year.

"Put it this way, if it wasn't [Alex] Pereira saving cards and putting his belt on the line while saving cards, it would be clearly Ilia [Topuria]. Yeah you've had three defenses but the two that Ilia took out and finishing us both, it's hard to pick against Ilia to be honest. I thought, before the weekend, 'How does Pereira not get it?' But then you go out there and get two massive wins like that... That's pretty impressive, man."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (via Home of Fight on X):