Daniel Cormier Thinks Mental Fatigue is Setting in for Ilia Topuria
During a new edition of “Funky and the Champ,” Daniel Cormier told Ben Askren that he feels Ilia Topuria’s desire to move on from the featherweight division has to do with mental fatigue (via MMAJunkie).
“When you beat the best guys, especially the two guys that ruled the division for so long, there can be a little bit of fatigue in there,” Cormier said. “It’s not like muscle fatigue; it’s mental fatigue. You have to be so up to do what he did to Max Holloway and to do what he did to Volkanovski.
“I don’t care what people tell you. The only ones that believe that he would do what he did was Ilia Topuria and his team. You can’t think that that was going to happen just being on the outside. He went out, and he knocked out Max Holloway. That doesn’t happen. You don’t knock out Max Holloway. He knocked out Volkanovski. You don’t do those things back to back.”
Ultimately, it’ll boil down to what the UFC brass wants to see Topuria do next. The idea of a potential showdown between Topuria and reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev certainly sounds lucrative. With that said, many believe “El Matador” has unfinished business at 145 pounds, particularly when it comes to a possible clash with Diego Lopes in the future.
For now, Alexander Volkanovski appears to be due a rematch with Topuria. We’ll see how things end up shaking out.
