Last Updated on February 27, 2026 by Pragjyoti Singh
The “pound-for-pound” debate just moved from the ring to the Octagon. During a recent stream with Adin Ross, UFC champ Ilia Topuria didn’t hold back after boxing stars Shakur Stevenson and Terence Crawford took aim at his striking credentials. Following Stevenson’s bold “come fight me” challenge and Crawford’s claim that MMA will never eclipse boxing’s prestige, “El Matador” fired back with a response of his own.
Topuria, not shying away from a confrontation, dismantled the logic behind the boxers’ claim that they could beat him in a fight.
Ilia Topuria fires back at Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenon
When Adin Ross brought up Shakur Stevenson’s callout, Ilia Topuria didn’t just disagree—he shut it down immediately. The UFC champ made it clear that he isn’t losing sleep over a boxing star’s claims, basically saying he would “whoop” both Crawford and Stevenson if things ever got real.
To Topuria, it’s a simple math problem. He asked Ross to imagine all three of them in a room together: “If we’re sharing this room right now. me, Crawford, and Shakur, and someone has to make the bed. Who do you think’s gonna do it? They’re gonna help each other.”
Before Ross could even react, Topuria ended the debate: “I would whoop both of them.“
He thinks these boxers are talking about a world they don’t actually understand. While they might be the best at hitting with their hands, Topuria argues they are completely lost once you add in the rest of the game. He didn’t hold back on the reality check:
“Yeah, bro, generally, like, what the f–k are you talking about? You only know one part of the fighting game, which is like boxing, but you don’t know everything about it. Wrestling, the ground game, like it’s different. A fight, I swear to God, if I have to go against uh both of them, I’d beat them a-s,” he said.
Topuria’s take is that these guys are specialists trying to talk about a generalist’s world. Since Stevenson seems so sure of himself, Topuria wrapped it up by telling him to stop talking on camera and just “come fight me” to see what happens when the rules change.
Ilia Topuria addresses Arman Tsarukyan and Islam Makhachev UFC rivalry
While the boxing drama is fun for the cameras, Topuria also took the time on stream to talk about his actual job: defending his UFC title. Even though interim champ Justin Gaethje is officially next in line after beating Paddy Pimblett, Topuria made it clear he isn’t sweating the competition. When asked about his future opponents, he didn’t exactly show much concern.
“Justin, Arman, I don’t care. Both of them, same night,” he said.
Topuria was especially critical of Arman Tsarukyan, dismissing the idea that the lightweight contender would be a serious problem for him if they eventually crossed paths. He was quick to point out what he sees as holes in Arman’s game and his past stumbles.
“He lost to Islam. He lost to Gamrot. He got knocked out in the beginning of his career. He doesn’t really have the ability to finish a fight. He only finishes the fights when his opponent gets tired,” Topuria claimed.
But “El Matador” isn’t just looking at the contenders in his own backyard; he’s thinking much bigger. He actually floated the idea of a brand-new UFC belt to help settle his rivalry with the welterweight king, Islam Makhachev. Instead of a standard title defense, Topuria wants to meet in the middle for something historic.
“It would be a great scenario to me to fight between 155 and 170 and to create a new belt,” he suggested. Whether it’s taking out the top contenders in a single night or inventing new weight classes to chase greatness, one thing is obvious: Topuria has zero intention of playing it safe.
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