UFC veteran Paul Felder wasn’t happy about Ilia Topuria’s comments regarding a possible fight against Arman Tsarukyan.
As we know, Ilia Topuria is one of the biggest stars in all of mixed martial arts today. He’s also a two-weight UFC champion, currently holding the gold at lightweight after vacating his strap at 145 pounds. There are plenty of questions surrounding what the future holds for ‘El Matador’ and one of the reasons for that is that there are a lot of contenders who believe they can step up to the plate.
RELATED: Ilia Topuria and Arman Tsarukyan continue to clash over potential title shot
Arman Tsarukyan is one of the main men who is currently striving for a crack at Ilia Topuria. Unfortunately for him, the champion seems to believe that Arman isn’t deserving of such an opportunity. That’s led to a real back and forth between the two men, with Ilia declaring that would rather vacate the belt instead of facing off with him.
In a recent podcast appearance, the aforementioned Paul Felder had some thoughts on the matter.
Felder isn’t happy with Topuria’s comments
“I mean the guy’s the number one contender,” Felder exclaimed. “And to say that you would rather relinquish the belt than fight him is- come on man, we’re getting a little carried away…
“In this generation of fighters, when they get to the top position, they are so willing to jump around weight classes and try to deny fighting guys. It’s not how it f—— works… If you’re the best and he’s not on your level and all this kind of stuff, then prove it. Just go out there and prove it, I hate that.”
“[…] I saw [his comments] and I was like, ‘Come on, man, here we go again we got a champion who’s just looking for the biggest thing…’” Felder added. “Look, the UFC’s not gonna try and put you in a position that’s not gonna be a big thing.
“And I think you’re getting to a position, Ilia, where you are the thing. They don’t need the other guy to necessarily be the thing. You’re the guy that people wanna see.”
Quotes via MMA Knockout
