Ariel Helwani: Ilia Topuria Stole The Spotlight On Busy MMA Weekend | The MMA Hour

Ariel Helwani and crew discusses the biggest combat story of the weekend, if it was PFL vs. Bellator, Brian Ortega’s comeback win or something else, why Ilia Topuria’s moment with Real Madrid was so big for the sport, what’s next for Topuria, Ortega’s injury during introductions, the UFC 301 main event, if Alex Pereira could headline UFC 300 and UFC 301, and more.
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[@christianbr7]

Ilia is the man💪🌹🥇🇪🇦

[@SillyOzzy]

Rick’s points about the PFL vs Bellator are spot on! Missed opportunity not merging the rosters immediately

[@scottgonnella2383]

Ariel has such a great show. I’ve learned so much about fighters that I wouldn’t have known. Thanks Ariel for all you do for the fight game.

[@abody499]

8:30 - that's nothing to do with la liga. That was all Real Madrid. They are very different institutions.

[@j.v.6263]

L.A Galaxy is not the same as MSL. The same thig here

[@nocmmahun]

The UFC is already done a cross marketing actions with LaLiga

[@ziotio]

Real Madrid is bigger than American handegg​@@j.v.6263

[@leilani90026]

No Eric, I can't watch another Royval vs Pantoja fight. I just can't.

[@FunkyFlunky2332]

You don’t want to watch more terrible striking and takedown defense? Stoppable force vs movable object

[@neilmacey84]

Chris weidmans father is the zodiac killer

[@TheBareKnucklest]

Nice 😂 but oddly makes sense

[@SillyOzzy]

lol wtf 🤣🤣

[@Boredoutofmywits]

It figures

[@danielstaystrong]

Lmao. You killed me on this.

[@allhailtheCODgod]

Nah Chris is the killer and that's why he said "That's still my boy" haha

[@Onlybadtakes2589]

The real mma hour video this monday

[@IamnotJokic]

Time stamps?

[@renogos117]

Honestly, with all the fights this weekend, I thought the biggest win was Inoue's younger brother Takuma's body shot KO against the very experienced Ancajas in the 9th round which has gone completely under the radar.

[@mashdeli]

10pm starts are the best he’ll u talking bout Ariel 🇨🇦

[@thedirtytrader7807]

First event missed non apex in 3 years. 3am for a fight night sucks 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@barkburton1]

I am so glad to see ilia topuria getting the respect he deserves. I knew he would be a champ after his Herbert fight. Dude is different and now everyone else see’s it.

[@artemgurevich4000]

If Yair (and most of his other opponents with decent striking) could make Ortega’s face look like he just got hit by a truck and nearly finish him in the first round, what do you think Topuria, who is precise and throws every shot with bad intentions, would do to Ortega before and if the fight ever does hit the ground? And if by some miracle Ortega survives Topuria’s power and aggression, we don’t even know for sure if Ortega can out grapple El Matador so if you guys truly think that T-City possibly warrants a title shot if stars are perfectly aligned with timing etc, riddle me this… what would be Ortega’s path to victory against the new champ? I’m not saying that other contenders can beat him too but in my opinion stylistically, Max Holloway is a perfect test and deserving contender for Topuria’s 1st title defense. And it’s a dam shame that Max got booked to fight Gaithje because even if he beats Justin, there’s just no way he’s coming out of that fight unscathed, which leads me to believe that it’s going to be Topuria vs O’Malley, as the UFC has a clear penchant for super fights over giving title shots to the rightful contenders…

[@pr1bob]

Editor

[@fidelioal]

Jaja I don’t see Ilia losing to anybody other than Islam and maybe some super elite lanky striker like O’Malley by a head kick but that’s it. Topuria is elite as it gets dude. I love when a super technical fighter has also 1 punch KO power and fights in a very aesthetic way. He kinda reminds me of boxing heavy Mcgregor version in the aesthetic but with way more mobility and versatility of course with his grappling. Also way more power than Conor and cardio.

[@artemgurevich4000]

@@fidelioal amen

[@tywalker4496]

So MMA hour but not a single MMA fighter was interviewed

[@commandercody8511]

It’s happened once in the past few years, relax

[@ssj4goku18825theepic]

Who cares

[@raghavkaushik9985]

Also recently, a lot of WWE stuff is being discussed. Absolutely hate it. Boxing is still fine to a certain extent.

[@yokaigypsy]

What are you talking about? Alex is right there. How rude.

[@jonoharper4729]

This shows how much this dude has lost traction and credibility with most of the UFC roster. Most athletes and managers want nothing to do with this guy, and they boycott this show. He calls out UFC continually for fighter pay, uniform, pension, etc. PFL does exactly the same and he says nothing. Anyone with above average intellect sees right through this guy. He has become more of a commentator than a journalist, and doesn't even attend live events anymore because he has fallen out with so many athletes and the UFC.

[@keeganrmoore]

The Ilia moment did not cross my radar at all until this segment 😂

[@vincentw3566]

People in the US dont know much about football (yes, the real "football", not soccer)

[@angelopueyygarcia43]

North American? You right south Americans love football

[@vincentw3566]

@@angelopueyygarcia43 north-american* In south America people love football

[@olbapoli4074]

​@@vincentw3566 I live in Europe and a massive football fan...the ilia Madrid moment was a big nothing in sports. Just a fighter kicking ball. It's common. Not that a big deal let's be real.

[@Radosavmmm]

still no interview after the fight with sir ariel helwani?

[@timdurant1731]

When are you going to Hot Ones? That needs to happen very soon

[@kieranshapland2620]

You gotta be respected, liked an famous.. he none of them...

[@timdurant1731]

@@kieranshapland2620 I don’t get the hate…

[@edm5929]

Where are the MMA topic time stamps?

[@danielstaystrong]

I'm not a soccer fan but my son is a huge one. Decided to watch the game and when Ilia came out I completely popped. The whole time I kept saying they are just trying to manufacture a superstar like connor since he's basically gone and Ilias just not it. Boy was wrong. To have the opportunity this weekend and to even catch myself jumping up excited to tell my son who that was. I guess he is the man now

[@Benkos1621]

I'm going to comment here just to come back once Ilia sells the whole stadium

[@salvador6356]

Time stamps ?? Cmon man

[@tylergodfrey3041]

This is a prime example of why the ufc doesn’t wanna allow this kind of thing. If he looks good against AJ he’s never fighting in PFL. Ever

[@travistarr9433]

Hala Madrid

[@artemgurevich4000]

So chances of seeing Max vs Topuria are actually low to non existent. If max beats Gaithje, why would he cut back down to 145 where all he would probably need to get a shot at 155 is another win, possibly 2 but either way are we really going to assume that a fighter would want to cut back down to his original weight class in the latter part of his career? And as far as the UFC shouldn’t count losing to Gaithje against Max’s resume at 145 and giving him the opportunity vs Topuria… while all of that may be true, if Max loses to Gaithje, it is probably not going to be the same way Jose Aldo lost to Merab or any opponent lost to Colby Covington, meaning Max is likely going to take some damage win or lose and especially lose, so timing wise, if Topuria wants to stay moderately active, he is not going to wait for Max to recover and will most likely defend his title well before max can fight again after UFC 300… in a way it’s a shame that Gaithje vs Holloway got booked for 300 and UFC should have waited until Volk vs Topuria happened because now we are likely never to see the most compelling stylistic match up for the newly crowned king at 145 and while Holloway vs Gaithje is a banger of a fight, I think Max deserves better but as he would say IT IS WHAT IT IS.

[@artemgurevich4000]

Listen guys I’m not trying to be a hater and kudos to T-city for fighting through adversity and prevailing but we are talking about a guy who barely fights, someone who is 1-2 in his last 3 and even in this win over Yair, Ortega took a ton of damage and looked like his normal self - a punching bag against a top ranked striker who did win but was it primarily bc of Yair’s fight IQ who knocks a guy down and all he has to do is wait for the ref to stand him up and finish him off but instead he follows him to the ground, which not only gives Ortega some breathing room but also plays right into his strength, which is grappling with a high level threat of submission… yes it was good to see Brian Ortega get back in the W column especially after he rolled his ankle and put himself in a horrible spot but let’s be honest here… this win was at least as much as Yair’s loss, who btw looked weaker than ever and could neither thwart a takedown attempt nor had the strength and the ability to get up from the bottom position, yet willingly went to the ground with a hurt Ortega, whom he was piecing up on the feet pretty badly….

[@JJ-om6nx]

Cool story

[@e13kid]

So what? You forgot to mention a point.

[@sweg9457]

if you feel like contextualizing his win this much maybe you should contextualize his last 2 losses. a bad luck injury and a crazy performance against the featherweight GOAT.

[@artemgurevich4000]

@@sweg9457 can’t disagree with that. Besides I like Ortega. Do I think he deserves a shot coming off 1 win in the last 3-4 years? No I don’t - do you? Additionally, don’t we all want to see title fights that are somewhat competitive? Of course, sometimes no matter how you try to interpret it, MMA math just doesn’t work but what does always prove to be true is a fact that styles make fights. Ortega’s style is literally tailor made for Topuria to add another brutal finish to his highlight reel that is already very impressive and likely to continue to grow. I mean how does Ortega beat Topuria? What is his path to victory? Where is T-City better than El Matador? Maybe he can take a flush shin to the dome a better than Topuria but neither of them is particularly known for their Cro-Cop ability to send their opponents into the shadow realm with devastating head kicks but if Topuria has so far been susceptible to any technique, it has been his inability to defend well against taller opponents’ head kicks but Ortega is hardly talker than Topuria and when did he ever finish a fight by a head kick KO? Anyway, I digress… all I wanted to say is yes Ortega did lose his last two to the fighter he just finished and one of the greatest fighters of his generation, volk. Definitely, no shame in those two losses because most fighters at 145 lose to El Pantera and Volk, as we have witnessed over the past few years. My biggest problem is Ortega’s lack of striking defense makes those losses look much worse as well as they have terrible long term health consequences. Because T-City is too tough for his own good, he seems to take the worst kind of damage, mostly strikes to the head in a devastating, compounding fashion. I would argue that getting KO’d cold is better for your longevity in the sport than for example when Brian lost to Max by his corner stoppage. And there’s a reason why corner stoppages are so rare in this sport and the only issue I had with that one is perhaps it should have been done sooner… in short, Brian Ortega is a fun fighter and one of the toughest warriors we have ever seen in this sport. Will he ever become a UFC champion, if I had to bet on it, I would say no. Will he ever even fight for the belt again, I hope that he does but again his path to a title shot, while possibly not a very long one, definitely is not as clear cut as Holloway’s would have been had he not taken that Gaithje fight. I think Ortega has to fight Evloeev in a title eliminator bout and if he wins (which I do think is one of the better stylistic matchups for him), I reckon he will have earned himself another (this time probably career ending) beat down, which at the end of the day does sound pessimistic and I want to say it’s a fight game so anything is possible but then I correct myself by saying almost anything but alas, Ortega beating Topuria is not one of those miracle upsets ala mode Matt Serra making GSP tap to strikes to become the most unexpected underdog to pull off the biggest upset in the UFC history to this day… Matt Serra tho had a legit punchers chance and power in his hands and my moral of the story here is that not everyone is destined to become a champion no matter how hard you try and as long as you look graceful throughout that journey and learn from your mistakes and triumphs alike while remaining to be humble in victory and defeat… “death is the road to awe…”

[@wheelchair_charlie]

Ive never seen a community that's more of a whiny drama queen than the mma community. The PFL event was decent as expected and is a decent alternative to the ufc.

[@FunkyFlunky2332]

They’ve got some production issues that’ll need to be worked out but I can totally see myself tuning in for PFL events in the future so long as they properly advertise and promote them ahead of time. I thought the only low points were on the prelims but that was mainly due to rookie and amateur fighters so it’s to be expected.

[@rconn4501]

Ilia vs Max vs Brain (if he beats Max!) vs Evloev

[@filipesurvival2686]

he didn't though, i live in Portugal and there was a small mention to it

[@luckyspurs]

No Real Madrid fan was thinking about Ilia Topuria, they were thinking about Luka Modric.

[@bigmig67]

Im happy for Illia. But football clubs like Real, do this often. Its quite common for a club to celebrate an achievement by either individuals or their own teams (in other non football sports like basketball etc...) before kick off in football games. I think the only thing that makes this different is that Illia is not associated with Real Madrid. I believe that in Brazil they tried linking fighters to football clubs that at one stage....I believe Anderson was linked with Corinthians and maybe Aldo with Flamengo? BUt that was short lived. So I dont believe they are ready to do a stadium event in Spain just yet. They may eventually do it, but not just yet. I mean how many stadiums events have there been, 2? Australia and Canada? They haven't even done one in Ireland or the UK.

[@dingodongo2489]

Spaniard and longtime Real Fan. No they dont do this kind of stuff a lot. Stop lying.

[@bigmig67]

🤣 Maybe Real dont, but its quite common in other countries. Not taking anything away from Ilia. I like the guy. But these guys are talking like because he did this, he can now fill a Santiago Bernabéu. Something that has only happened twice in UFC history and something that not even Conor could accomplish. And although im not a Conor fan, he would be the one that could do it. Anyway man. Have a good one. But I wasn't lying

[@zacryan2095]

even if the ufc was offered oil money i dont think they will do jones vs ngannou because it does more for pfl then ufc it shows they are on the same level visually even tho they arent dana will never agree to help a promotion that cant sell 100k ppv when this fihgt could of happened in the ufc if francis didnt want 20m health insurance for all after fighting the ability to co promote and box he asked for more then conor ever did and people blame jones

[@melissamanley2894]

Surely the Spain card needs to be July while Real Madrid aren’t using the stadium?

[@ADEOLADEEBO]

Adverts are a nightmare trying to listen while doing other thingss

[@raghavkaushik9985]

Ok, even if Poatan makes that turnaround for 301, who is he facing? Even Jiri is on 300, considering he might win, it should be a rematch for the belt. Jiri deserves it

[@zbtyn]

Ankalaev

[@pr1bob]

Allen Vs Ortega next?

[@TheBareKnucklest]

Connor right max vs ilia in Spain

[@olbapoli4074]

Living in europe and watching football, the ilia madrid thing barely flickered on the radar. Its very common for dighters to be on the pitch to do a kick off etc . He just came in the putch fir a fewinutes, got aplluaded and kicked a ball. Guarantee 95% of the fans didnt csre. Heleaningoing hard fir this cos itay be a popular thing in america but in europe its minor.

[@Benkos1621]

I'm going to comment here just to come back once Ilia sells the whole stadium

[@tristandavis6060]

Ilia is finna be on top for a good Minute🔥💯

[@calebrollins1120]

Francis wanted Bader to win so he could secure an easy bag.

[@olbapoli4074]

8:28 lol i kniw helwani has jumped on football recently, but he should know firstly aspinall is aan utd fan and secindly he was given the full stadium thing at old trafford when he won his interim title.

[@davidadamashvili2894]

Mark my words, Ilia topuria will be much bigger than Conor and Khabib.

[@alcottdevalte7440]

Conor vs Aldo did 1.3 million PPV buys already back in 2015 unlike Illia vs Alex. Conor and Khabib combined have 100+ million followers on social media.

[@ramonbriones4487]

Stop it

[@JamalLXIX]

he has the skill but cant talk on the mic

[@bodhisattva-p]

We’re never getting another Connor Mcgreggor

[@davidadamashvili2894]

@@alcottdevalte7440 Ilia vs Volk wasn't Conor vs Aldo, Ilia will have his Aldo type fight but it hasn't happened yet, he just started to get popular. You'll see.

[@luckyspurs]

Definitely think they're overplaying how relevant it is famous Spanish sportspeople and teams, talking about Topuria. Like, being shouted out by hugely famous people doesn't make you hugely famous.

[@user-cr4ic9ov8x]

This the first time I'm let down by your show...... We don't have a problem with you interviewing boxing guys but not all interviews.. I almost unsuscribed to the show, this is a MMA show boxing is a guest, not the entire show

[@cheahhhh]

He has absolutely no connection with Spain....almost a young man when he went there. He probably doesnt even know what a Matador does

[@MMAVoodoo]

He seems about as Spanish as Khamzat is Swedish 😅

[@francesccampos1343]

​@@MMAVoodoo You must be one of those ignorants that really think that Spain is like Mexico or Cuba to say such thing.

[@Beraw33669]

8:49 top League ? Are you kidding ? Do you even know how successful team is Real Madrid in footballs history ?

[@vedranstupar7277]

Max gets KOd by Justin,, how you going to tell me that you want him to fight 3 months later vs a devastating KO artist Ilija

[@Homer_the_prophet99]

Y’all are talking about Shields like she lost smh

[@suhdude537]

Why is Ariel so obsessed with Khalil Rountree so much, is there a backstory?

[@eoinoconnor8996]

He teabagged him previously

[@ramonbriones4487]

No time stamps?! 🤬😡

[@alcottdevalte7440]

Illia needs to go full in with being the bad guy and making it really ugly. Fun buildups are always the best.

[@MB0519x]

Nah he should just be himself . He was not being the bad guy with Alex just confident . He will be huge if he keeps winning

[@artemgurevich4000]

They will have O’Malley vs Topuria if Sean gets past chito Vera - mark my words

[@thekitchenchikens]

I don’t think ilia will steel merab’s chance to fight for the belt. Sean VS Topuria is the fight to make down the line though.

[@loopvil369]

Be honest GC, nobody is talking about Francis or PFL

[@ProtomanButCallMeBlues]

Francis vs Joshua has some steam. Francis in MMA/PFL has basically zero.

[@crazypato3752]

​@@ProtomanButCallMeBlues Because Francis Is booked against Joshua, the moment Francis gets booked against Renan Trust me there will be hype

[@luckyspurs]

What are you talking about, Ngannou v Joshua is going to be literally the most talked about combat sport thing for the next 2 weeks.

[@ProtomanButCallMeBlues]

@@luckyspurs the one that is projected to sell under 100k ppvs?

[@spaffron4285]

PFL with no elbows is a trash product the season sucks

[@zigmarsz.7540]

For me PFL criticism comes from this show to be honest. Promoter talking co-leader in MMA nonsense and then having this show. There where almost no fans just random people wondering by, it looked below PFL standards broadcast wise and there was whole bunch of technical issues. Obviously im going to watch it because why not but this is unsustainable. And how on earth there was no Ngannou steardown in the ring? This was PFL's potentially biggest moment in it's history. Absolutely nobody cares about some regional PFL leagues but we all care about Ngannou next fight don't we? \they have money, they have bunch of good fighters with Ngannou on top and just all of it feels like it's going to fail inevitably. Im starting to thing they need better PR and to be honest better promoter.

[@javiercalzadillarios280]

Ilia can hold Islam in the clinch and in the ground. In striking is in other planet. Islam is an animal but Ilia have chances to defeat Makhachev, the fight it would be possible in 2025

[@sainttrai]

Holloway beats Ilia via split decision

[@throxen]

can't knock him out? Wrestling mode on

[@dayday3688]

Time stamps little mermaid, make it happen

[@luckyspurs]

All this talk about Topuria. Yet he's still got only 200,000 twitter followers. Belal has 240,000, Leon Edwards has 330,000. Conor has 10,470,000. The hype is getting ridiculous now. People walk out on football pitches all the time; barely anyone in the stadium cares. They're there for the match.

[@mpalm4602]

Bad troll

[@zbtyn]

3.5 mil on Instagran

[@Benkos1621]

I'm going to comment here just to come back once Ilia sells the whole stadium

[@j.v.6263]

Santiago Bernabeu. 15 min ride by car from my home. IM IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY ASDJFBASDOJFBSDAKJFH XE OPE SDJFBPSDJFBD PSFJ DSF DS`FS OLEEEEEEEEEEEE OLEE OLE OLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE OLEEEEEEEEEEEEE OLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@olbapoli4074]

Lets be real, ufc are not going to spain. Theh havent even sorted out aftica...ufc are happy with apex, vegas, few other us places, uae, now saudi, australia and uk. The spian card wouldnt be all that

[@IgotTigersblood]

His hair transplant look like a helmet

[@dayday3688]

I used to watch Ariel but I just can’t anymore, an hour and a half of yapping

[@codycox2465]

Ariel no one cares about your little fairy show 😂

[@walterkaiyuenpang3556]

🤦🤦🤦

[@rentcontrold]

those two are so lame lol pfl new era? lmao

[@CreateLoveAndEvolve]

These guys are loons

[@tonystarks10473]

Islam vs Ilia on Bernabeu, You heard it here first.

[@MMAPicks]

Todays show was really bad