Video
Original Description
Ilia Topuria catches up with Brett Okamoto following his #UFC317 first-round knockout win over Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight championship.
✔ For more UFC, sign up for ESPN+ http://espnplus.com/ufc/youtube
✔ Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
✔ Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
✔ Subscribe to ESPN FC on YouTube: http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoESPNFC
✔ Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoNBAonESPN
✔ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV
Video Transcript
brett Okamoto backstage UFC 317 where
Elia Tapora just became the 10th person
to ever win two championships multiple
weight classes a lot of people dream
about one belt on their shoulder you got
two belts on each shoulder right now how
does this moment feel for you right now
it's so amazing it's so amazing i don't
I don't know how to describe it with the
with the simple words feel so blessed
and the only undefeated two-way class
award champion I think so yeah someone
told me in the backstage that I was like
ah that's a cool fact it is a cool fact
i'm I think a lot of people watch you
and they're just like you seem so calm
you seem like you know exactly what's
going to happen clearly you're enjoying
this moment but can you take us into
your mind a little bit because you were
handling this in a way that very very h
few human beings are able to just stay
calm and this confident in these big
moments just throughout the night these
moments how are how are you able to
handle them the way you do what happens
is that when I talk they they think that
I'm cocky and I'm overconfidence and all
that but in in reality
is that I feel that no one can match my
level of skills inside the octagon the
way I perform the way I I I move inside
the octagon they they don't see me
coming i know what what I'm able to do
inside that octagon from my training
comes during the training uh training
sessions during the sparring uh sessions
and all that i know how good I am and
when I come here and when I talk they
think that I'm cocky but and they think
that I'm crazy but in reality I'm not i
I used to say that I I represent the new
generation of the mix of martial arts
and it took me a little bit of time to
demonstrate it you know what I mean so
thanks God after every fight I have more
believers in my in in my team yeah I
would say so there's not many doubters
at this point i would when you're
envisioning this fight against Charles
Alivera you you called your shot first
round knockout are you seeing that
actual shot are you saw it exactly like
this exactly like this i knew it i knew
it like in in the moment when I'm going
to start to combinate punches he's not
going to see me coming and I call this I
actually told you and during the whole
week I told you he's not going to see me
coming the way I move the way I do it
they can't do anything against it can
you talk about just It seemed like you
were very comfortable the whole time but
that's Charles Olivera there i mean
that's the guy who's got the most
submission wins in UFC history he's got
your leg he wraps you up a little bit
it's early in the fight first round any
type of of of of adversity go through
your mind there ex I also said that I
said that like once I want to start to
connect him connecting punches he's
going to try to take me down this is
something he's going to try he's going
to try to walk forward but one thing is
what you are going to try and the other
thing is what you are going to do what
you are going to be able to do so
exactly what I said I connected with
couple of punches he was like shocked
and he said I need to get a takedown
then I defended the takedown down i
control him in the ground almost i I get
a very dominating position in the ground
i was very very close to get it he he he
did a great scramble in the ground uh
again we we went to the striking and
finally I I could knock him out i've
talked to a lot of great fighters over
the course of my career i've had the the
honor of doing so even the great ones
tell me "We're all scared right before
we walk out anyone who tells you they're
not scared is lying to you but when you
walked out tonight I mean that was a
different level of confidence that I saw
i think a lot of people saw it there any
fear any doubt in your mind whatsoever
when you go into these these situations
i have been in the backstage many many
many times and I feel the the fear many
times
but this times this time like the the
last three fights I would say I didn't
feel the fear i was really really
enjoying the whole process because I
knew exactly what what what I would do
inside the octagon i knew it like like I
used to say
the the belts are uh earned in the
training in the competition you just go
to collect them and that's what I did
tonight did you have any idea what was
going to happen after the fight i mean
obviously you win your second
championship there's a laundry list of
guys that that want to fight you there's
a laundry list of big fights for you i
believe so but there are many guys that
want to fight me i mean there's a
there's a that want to fight you i mean
I think they want to fight you for what
you've got
maybe maybe yes you think Patty Pinlet
really wants to fight you oh I saw him
the eyes never lie he doesn't want to
fight me really i swear to to God he
doesn't want to fight me i saw the fear
in his eyes the eyes never lie tell us
what to look for in that situation
because the rest of us are seeing him
when when we bring him inside the
octagon he was scared i'm telling you he
was like "What the I'm doing here why I
I didn't went to the school the
university why I didn't choose something
different?"
Do you when having looked him in the
eyes tonight is he your next opponent do
you believe that he's next listen uh I
don't think that we have anyone else in
in the division like fighting a uh
against Justin Gachi I don't think that
that's going to be something exciting
for the fans because as I said like we
need new blood in in in in the division
you know we need new faces new guys that
come hungrier than the guys that we used
to see in the in the past like Justin Gi
Charles Olivera or the other guys you
know what I mean so I want to I want to
bring new faces to the game i asked you
uh last week if we at the end of your
career would think of you more as a
featherweight or a lightweight and you
said lightweight without a doubt some of
us were saying I mean of course this is
the the natural question will the power
translate i think you looked more
comfortable and even more dangerous can
you talk about just how different you
felt tonight as opposed to before when
you were cutting all that weight to make
145 two different words as I told you
like I felt much much more uh
comfortable in this weight weight
division than in the featherweight
division in the featherweight division
to make the weight class I had to almost
kill myself and the way in this weight
class I enjoyed the whole process
i would love to say the same thing about
the the the fight week but the the fight
week is always hard i don't know why i
hate to to cut the weight the last
pounds like when you feel so thirsty but
at the end of the day it is what it is i
feel much more comfortable in the
lightweight division of course I belong
to to this weight weight class and the
and because you don't have to cut as
much weight when when could we see you
again i mean this this fight is now by
the end of the year mhm if part is ready
yeah i will be ready for him you think I
mean eventually and we don't want to get
too too ahead of ourselves but until one
of you guys lose if that happens we're
going to keep talking about you and
Islam Makachev what do you think changed
tonight do you think that people might
people you say you have still some
doubters you say you still you say these
things and people don't believe you you
think people will start believing
realistically realistically
from all the conversations I had with
the UFC and how the situation has been
involved during the whole process i
don't think that that fight is going to
happen i will be surprised if I I get
the call and they're gonna tell me like
I want to fight against Islam which I
would love to do it no problem like this
is competition you know i'm I'm not
going to lose my life inside that that
that octagon so I'm ready for whoever I
know that I'm very very dangerous and
whoever is ready for me I will be here
as always you mean next but eventually
you guys keep winning we will see that
fight you think so hopefully i would
certainly why not why not if the USC if
the US wants to make that fight happen
they're going to make that happen but I
don't know if
they want to make it happen if so I'm
going to be ready last question how do
you celebrate a moment like this you got
your family with you you got your son
here everybody's come over from Spain we
have everything set up at home so we are
going to celebrate with the family now
at at home as long as you didn't
celebrate too much the night before 24
hours before defeating Charles Oliver
you celebrate the victory over him why
did you do that and why did you put that
out there i got to ask because I already
felt uh victoriously
why because when I put so much work uh
in training camp I do everything that I
can do i already feel that I'm
victorious you know what I mean so I
have already uh
let's translate that
we I'm sure we'll get someone to
translate on that we'll throw a subtitle
on it but
what you're doing is special man and it
is an honor for me to sit here and talk
to you congratulations thank you very
much thank you appreciate the time Elia
enjoy it with your family thank you very
much
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]