Ilia Topuria has officially become the best fighter in the world. And yes, as I've been telling you since the broadcast, I thought that with what Ilia Topuria had done, they would place him. I wasn't surprised at all that they placed him number one in the Pound for Pound rankings, which gives him the title of the best fighter in the world today.
Yes, gentlemen, the best fighter in the world today, whether you like it or not, is Ilia Topuria. I think he's super-deserved. Islan Macachev drops to number two, and at number three is Merabda Willy. For me, this top three is super-deserved. They're three amazing fighters. But from my point of view, Ilia has pulled off the greatest feat today, which is dispatching three UFC Goats in his last three fights, which is insane.
Obviously, he has 17 consecutive victories. I'm not talking about all the others, but these three, fundamentally, which are the ones that give him the status of the best fighter in the world. On top of that, there are also those remnants of Cono McGregor, those memories of Cono McGregor saying, "Hey, I'm going to knock him out in the first round, go ahead and knock him out." That's impressive. If he's going to do what he says, that he's going to do everything he's been saying all week, he's going to move forward, it's going to be very short.
Ilia Topuria as number one after the outrage he committed, I think it's fantastic. I think Islan Macachev is fine at number two because he's still a great champion. And if he does something extraordinary, they'll obviously have to put him back at number one.