UFC veteran Matt Brown believes that Ilia Topuria is already on the verge of comparisons to Jon Jones. Following his knockout victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, Topuria has continued to rise in the rankings and is now sitting at the top of the pound-for-pound list.
Brown, a UFC record holder with 13 knockouts at welterweight, thinks that Topuria’s recent run of wins might be better than any in Jones’ career. “I looked through some of Jones’ resume, and I was comparing some of the three fight runs that he went on,” Brown said. “Maybe hindsight is 20/20, but I don’t know it’s as good as this run that Ilia is on.”
Brown wants to see Topuria face Arman Tsarukyan next instead of Paddy Pimblett, citing that a win over the latter would be even bigger than his UFC 317 victory. The veteran believes that a defeat over Tsarukyan would add to the argument that Topuria is the greatest ever.
While some might disagree with Brown’s stance, he remains confident in Topuria’s ability to eclipse Jones’ legacy. “I want to see the run keep going,” Brown said. “That’s my biggest criticism of Jon Jones. He did eventually kind of taper off in terms of level of competition.”
Topuria’s recent dominance has led some to question whether he should be considered for a spot in the greatest of all time conversation. With his undefeated star on the rise, it will be interesting to see how he navigates his future fights and whether Brown’s predictions come true.
Source: https://bloodyelbow.com/2025/07/01/my-biggest-criticism-of-jon-jones-ilia-topuria-can-surpass-goat-in-key-area-says-ufc-record-holder