{"id":6807,"date":"2026-03-18T11:17:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/?p=6807"},"modified":"2026-03-18T20:23:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T19:23:38","slug":"when-the-legend-speaks-could-tsarukyan-surpass-current-champion-ilia-topuria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/when-the-legend-speaks-could-tsarukyan-surpass-current-champion-ilia-topuria\/","title":{"rendered":"When the Legend Speaks: Could Tsarukyan Surpass Current Champion Ilia Topuria?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2476\" data-end=\"2817\">In the relentless world of mixed martial arts, where every strike and strategic choice matters, the words of legends carry immense weight. <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Khabib Nurmagomedov<\/span><\/span>, the undefeated former <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Ultimate Fighting Championship<\/span><\/span> champion, continues to shape perceptions not only among fans but also within the organization itself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2819\" data-end=\"3247\">Recently, Khabib made waves by naming <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Arman Tsarukyan<\/span><\/span> as the world\u2019s best lightweight. His bold opinion challenges the official hierarchy and casts doubt on the supremacy of <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Ilia Topuria<\/span><\/span>, the current champion. According to Khabib, Topuria stands little chance against the Armenian, and the UFC\u2019s cautious scheduling explains why this highly anticipated clash hasn\u2019t yet happened.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3249\" data-end=\"3581\">Yet, Tsarukyan\u2019s journey is not without controversy. His on-stage incidents and post-fight behavior have drawn criticism from <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Dana White<\/span><\/span>, highlighting that raw talent alone isn\u2019t enough to rise in a demanding organization. Discipline, strategy, and public image are as critical as octagon performance.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3583\" data-end=\"3939\">Meanwhile, <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Charles Oliveira<\/span><\/span>\u2019s recent victory emphasizes the ever-shifting dynamics of the lightweight division, where every fight reshuffles the rankings. This debate goes beyond naming \u201cthe best\u201d: it exposes the complex balancing act between athletic performance, marketability, and risk management that defines the UFC landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the relentless world of mixed martial arts, where every strike and strategic choice matters, the words of legends carry immense weight. Khabib Nurmagomedov, the undefeated former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion, continues to shape perceptions not only among fans but also within the organization itself. Recently, Khabib made waves by naming Arman Tsarukyan as the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6808,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6807","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"category-ufc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6807"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6807"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6809,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6807\/revisions\/6809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}