Mike Tyson ex-Coach Compares Ilia Topuria to Muhammad Ali

Ilia Topuria bears similarities to boxing's greatest fighters, Muhammad Ali and 'Sugar Ray' Robinson, according to Mike Tyson's ex-coach Teddy Atlas, a popular analyst of combat sports.

Topuria, though, refuses to rest on his laurels and appears intent on winning another title, as high as welterweight — possibly against simmering rival Islam Makhachev, to become the first-ever fighter in the history of the sport to be a three-weight champion. Atlas believes a mindset like that is comparable to Ali and Robinson.

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Ilia Topuria Just Like Muhammad Ali

The UFC superstar, and boxing's greatest, both have unparalleled confidence — and it's what makes them both great

When speaking to BetVictor Online Casinos recently, Atlas singled out what makes Topuria "so special" that he remains unbeaten after 17 mixed martial arts fights across all organizations he's competed for, with a ceiling so high it's still unclear whether he'll stay at 155 pounds, or continue to swashbuckle his way through the UFC's weight classes.

Those two people, Atlas said, were Sugar Ray Robinson, who is arguably the greatest welterweight and middleweight fighter ever, and Muhammad Ali, a three-time heavyweight king during his heyday.

"What it means is, it's an ability, not just confidence, but it's a belief that you just can't get beat."

It is that mindset that Makhachev will hope to dent, if they are to ever face-off from one another in the Octagon.

Makhachev recently vacated his lightweight title to move into the welterweight division, which thus allowed Topuria to move into the 155-pound weight class and challenge Oliveira for the vacant belt. Makhachev is yet to debut in the 170-pound division but it is widely acknowledged that he'll be Jack Della Maddalena's first defense of the Australian fighter's newly won championship.