Ilia Topuria seems to be impressed by Carlos Alcaraz’s performance in the French Open final last Sunday. Alcaraz, who was trailing in the match, pulled off arguably one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history to secure the victory.
Ilia Topuria Reacts to Carlos Alcaraz’s Epic Comeback Win at Roland Garros
Alcaraz just added an unforgettable chapter to Spanish sports history. He was down two sets against Jannik Sinner in the French Open final at Roland Garros. However, the Spaniard pulled himself back and came back stronger to claim the title in an epic five-hour and 29-minute battle.
The match etched its name in tennis books as the longest men’s final in the tournament’s history. With this victory, Alcaraz became the third-youngest man ever to win five Grand Slam titles.
The comeback left fans in awe, and praise poured in for the Spanish tennis star, among them was UFC star Topuria. He shared a photo of Alcaraz holding the trophy on his Instagram story, captioning it: “Ídolo. El ejemplo de no rendirse,” which translates to “Idol. The example of not giving up.”
Meanwhile, Topuria is gearing up to claim the lightweight title as he is set to face Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317 for the vacant lightweight belt.
Demetrious Johnson Analyzes How Charles Oliveira Could Trouble Ilia Topuria at UFC 317
Demetrious Johnson weighed in on the upcoming Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira fight during Tim Welch’s podcast. Johnson believes that Oliveira could pose a serious threat to “El Matador” and expressed doubts about the Spaniard-Georgian’s clinch fighting skills.
“If Charles can get him there – obviously if he grabs the clinch, he can go body, body, head. But, when he does body, body, head, you can still bang him with a knee. So, it’s a give and take. If Charles can get him there, it will be interesting to see what happens.”
“Mighty Mouse” emphasized that if he were to fight the former featherweight champion, he would force the fight into the clinch.
“If I was to fight Ilia, I would fight him in the clinch. It’s like, ‘OK, outside he hits too hard, he’s going to stalk me. If I shoot, he’s going to defend, and then he’s going to back up, or he might try to take me down. What would he do in the clinch?’ Because I know he’s going to go body, body, and I’m going to go elbow. That’s where I’m like I want to see what he would do,” Johnson added.
Oliveira is considered the greatest submission artist on the UFC roster, while Topuria has showcased exceptional boxing skills. This makes the matchup even more intriguing, and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top at UFC 317.