Is Ilia Topuria Lying? UFC Champ Takes Polygraph Test on Camera

17/09/2024 21:10

Ilia Topuria may say he feels invincible, but the lie detector test determined that was a lie.

During a recent interview with his brother, the reigning UFC featherweight champion was hooked up to a polygraph and was asked if he truly believed he could defeat any opponent the promotion puts in front of him. Unsurprisingly, ‘El Matador’ answered in the affirmative, but the polygraph indicated otherwise, suggesting that Topuria was lying.

Despite the result, Topuria remained adamant about his invincibility.

“I’ve always felt invincible,” Topuria said. “This [Polygraph] can say whatever it wants to say.”

Ilia Topuria puts his gold up for grabs at UFC 308

In a few short weeks, Ilia Topuria will have the opportunity to put his confidence on full display when he defends the 145-pound title for the first time since taking the belt from Alexander Volkanovski in February. ‘El Matador’ will face current BMF titleholder Max Holloway when the promotion heads back to Abu Dhabi for a loaded UFC 308 card at Etihad Arena.

‘Blessed’ earned his shot via a buzzer-beating knockout against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 to capture the promotion’s bragging rights belt. Holloways’ BMF title won’t be up for grabs in the UAE, something Topuria was admittedly frustrated by.

"No, the BMF title is not going to be on the line," Topuria told MMA Junkie in August. "To be honest, I don't care. They took that decision and at the end of the day it's like, when I'm going to beat him he can't say he's a BMF or however they want to call him. I'm just concentrating on my title defense and that's it. I don't care about anything else."

Holloway is a former featherweight champion, having captured the interim title with a win over Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis before TKO’ing Jose Aldo at UFC 212 to become the division’s undisputed king. Blessed’ successfully defended the title three times, defeating Aldo in a rematch, Brian Ortega, and Frankie Edgar.

Holloway surrendered the title to Volkavnovski at UFC 245 and failed to reclaim the belt in back-to-back rematches with ‘The Great,’ forcing him to move on from the featherweight title picture. Now, with Volkanovski no longer sitting on the throne and ‘Blessed’ banking three straight wins, Holloway is ready to kickstart a new title reign in 2024.