Daniel Cormier TV - DC REACTS to Ilia Topuria CALLING OUT Terence Crawford: "Ilia is WINNING right now"

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Episode: Daniel Cormier TV – DC REACTS to Ilia Topuria CALLING OUT Terence Crawford: "Ilia is WINNING right now"
Date: September 17, 2025
Host: Daniel Cormier (DC)

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Overview

In this episode, Daniel Cormier dives into the buzz created by UFC champion Ilia Topuria's public callout of boxing superstar Terence "Bud" Crawford following Crawford’s big win over Canelo Alvarez. DC explores whether a crossover superfight could become reality, analyzes both fighters’ positions, and weighs the marketing and competitive implications for combat sports. The theme of "winning outside the ring"—by controlling narrative and attention—runs throughout the conversation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The New Wave of MMA Callouts After Big Boxing Matches

• Context: After Terence Crawford’s victory over Canelo, many high-profile MMA fighters—including Ilia Topuria—called him out for a crossover bout.
• Quote: “You want a piece of the Bud business. You want to fight Terence Crawford. One person that comes to mind […] Ilia Topuria.” (05:10)
• Insight: MMA fighters taking cues from Conor McGregor’s money-fight against Mayweather; cross-discipline callouts have become a norm for fighters seeking both legacy and payday.

2. Comparing Ilia Topuria to Conor McGregor (and Why It Matters)

• DC’s analysis: On the surface, Topuria mimics McGregor’s strategy, but DC is realistic about the magnitude and credibility of the matchup.
  • “He carries himself like Conor in a lot of ways. He’s a true professional. People are tapped into him…but I don't think he has that appeal of Conor McGregor.” (09:02)
• Difference: Conor’s unique charisma and global popularity set his Mayweather fight apart; Topuria is respected but doesn’t yet have Conor’s mainstream crossover.

3. Star Power and Selling the Fight

• Why people bought McGregor vs. Mayweather:
  • “We knew right deep down that Conor McGregor was not going to knock out Floyd Mayweather, but because of what we had seen him do inside the Octagon…people thought he had a chance.” (07:14)
• Can Topuria replicate that appeal?
  • “Would I bet that Ilya Tapoi could knock Terence Crawford out? No chance.” (06:40)
  • But—Ilia is a legitimate knockout artist, which helps sell the “what if?” angle.

4. Terence Crawford’s Response

• Crawford’s quote (via Ariel Helwani):
  • “To be honest, I never even seen this dude fight. I ain’t gonna lie. You know, I’m not worried about that guy at all. You know, he’s not nowhere near on the level of Conor McGregor. Let’s be real. Stop it.” (08:12)
• DC’s reaction: Cormier calls out Crawford for “no selling” Topuria, but expresses skepticism: “That’s where Bud’s lying…He knows who Illiot Topuria is. Bud knows who Ilya is because he watches [MMA].” (08:55)
• Deeper game: DC suggests Crawford’s dismissiveness is strategic and echoes Mayweather’s marketing playbook—refusing to build up rival’s stardom unless it benefits him.

5. The Practicality of the Fight

• Genre gap:
  • “It’s hard to step into that world and expect a guy from our sport…to go and beat a guy that’s done nothing but box his entire life. That’s why we haven’t seen it yet.” (16:28)
• Market perspective:
  • “But I've doubted Ilia Topuria before, and he has exceeded everything I could have ever imagined inside the Octagon.” (15:58)
• Fight likelihood assessment: Cormier is unconvinced the fight will happen but acknowledges its attention-generating potential.

6. The Social Media Battle: Topuria “Winning”

• Ilia Topuria’s response:
  • "You say you're an MMA fan, but you don't even know who I am. Interesting. The first time we met, you told me, good luck this week with your fight, your memory fails you, and soon your chin will too. I'll represent the entire MMA community pound for pound number one in real fights versus the pound for pound number one boxer in the world.” (15:37)
• DC’s insight:
  • “Ilya Taforia in this right now, guys, is winning. He’s winning because he has him talking about him. And every time Terence Crawford speaks Ilya's name…Ilia wins. That's another step closer to getting what he wants.” (16:05)
• Strategic advice: DC urges Topuria to keep the pressure up on social media for maximum exposure and to stay ready for any opportunity.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On whether Topuria can beat Crawford (Boxing):
  • “Would I bet that Ilia Topuria could knock Terence Crawford out? No chance.” – Daniel Cormier (06:40)
• Crawford’s blunt dismissal:
  • "I never even seen this dude fight. I ain’t gonna lie. You know, I’m not worried about that guy at all.” – Terence "Bud" Crawford (08:12)
• DC’s skepticism:
  • “That’s where Bud’s lying to y’all…He knows who Illiot Topuria is. Bud knows who Ilya is because he watches [MMA].” – Daniel Cormier (08:55)
• On Topuria’s wins outside the ring:
  • “Every time Terrence Crawford speaks Ilya's name…Ilia wins. That's another step closer to getting to what he wants.” – Daniel Cormier (16:05)
• On star power elements:
  • “If you can knock people out, people will buy it with the chance that you could get it done against someone who may be superior to you in a certain skill set.” (12:01)
  • “He isn’t Conor McGregor…But in terms of a real guy that can box, that’s Ilia Topuria for MMA fighters.” (09:05)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• Ilia Topuria’s crossover callout: 05:10–06:40
• Comparing Topuria to McGregor: 07:05–09:05
• Terence Crawford’s response & DC’s analysis: 08:12–09:50
• Ilia Topuria’s social media reply & “winning” the PR war: 15:32–16:32
• DC’s final advice to Topuria: 17:10–18:15

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Tone and Language

• DC’s voice: Insightful, a bit teasing, grounded in fighter experience and candid, with storytelling flourishes.
• Energy: Light, a little playful but always respectful, emphasizing strategy and showmanship in both sport and promotion.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode spotlights how modern combat sports are as much about “winning the moment” through media savvy as they are about winning the fight itself. DC recognizes Topuria’s moves as smart publicity, even as he questions the likelihood or competitiveness of a potential Crawford-Topuria bout. Ultimately, the drama and noise benefit both fighters, with Topuria “winning right now” in the court of attention—even if a fight in the ring remains a long shot.

Transcript

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On the surface, right, it looks and feels to us because to us, MMA is massive. It's huge. We believe the whole world pays attention to our champions. So on the face, on the surface, it looks like Ilia Toporia. In our world, we saw Conor McGregor do it against Floyd Mayweather, who had won 48 fights, 49 fights. We saw him get it done. He was popular. There are a lot of similarities between him and Conor Ilya. I mean, why can't it happen on the face? Then when you start looking into it a little bit more, you got to really start to Be truthful with yourself and everything around it. I think Terence Crawford probably said it best when he. When he was speaking to Ariel Wanney. But. And I will show you that clip later. I disagree to a point, but I do agree with him a little bit. 1. Ilia Topori started talking about him and Canelo before the fight. This is nothing new, guys. MMA fighters have been doing that forever. Hell, Nate Diaz said him and Bud Crawford next. I mean that, right? Star power. Nate's a massive star boxing ability. For as good as Nate may be, him and Bud Crawford, that's not anything I want to see. Because Nate doesn't knock people out. Ilya does. So you start going, well, maybe, maybe. Or you at least know that people can sell that. People can sell the idea that maybe he can knock him out. Would I bet that Ilya Tapoi could knock Terrence Crawford out? No chance. If I had to Bet Ilya Tapoi vs. Terrence Crawford, I'm betting Terence Crawford. I mean, he's the best boxer in the world, and this is what he does, and he's done his entire life. But we also knew that about Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. We knew right deep down that Conor McGregor was not going to knock out Floyd Mayweather, but because of what we had seen him do inside of the Octagon, what we had seen him do to all those great fighters in mma. When he walked into that ring, people thought he had a chance. He didn't really have a chance. Conor never had a chance against Floyd Mayweather. And it would feel that way with Deport, but you could at least sell that there's a chance because of how good he is in boxing and how he knocks people out inside the ufc. Initially, I thought Bud Crawford would just, no, sell Ilya to Poirier. Right? When you're the king and everybody's calling your name, you can literally just ignore them and nobody will say anything about it. But Bud Crawford isn't one to ignore stuff. Chao told a story about how his mom would pay kids to fight him growing up. Bud's from Nebraska. Omaha. This dude's a street kid. He ain't running away from a fight. So when a guy keeps yelling his name, he has something to say. This is what he told Ariel Hawani whenever he was on the Hawani show on Monday. To be honest, I never even seen this dude fight. I ain't gonna lie. You know, I'm not worried about that guy at all. You know, he's not nowhere near on the level of Conor McGregor. Let's be real. Stop it. So, as you see right there, Bud's kind of saying, I didn't even know who Ilya was. Bud saying, I don't even know who Ilya was. Right. He said that he. He met Ilya Toporia at a UFC event, and Ilya walked up to him, shook his hand, and told him something. And then he said, ilya then goes to the Internet and starts talking about knocking him out. He said, I didn't even know who the guy was. Terence Crawford is saying, I don't know who Ilya Tapori is. Listen, guys, I gotta tell you something. I know Bud Crawford. I know Bud Crawford's son. Sons, they wrestle. I know Bud wrestled. I know Bud loves mma. I know that Bud watches mma. That's where Bud's lying to y'. All. He knows who Illiot the Poirier is. Bud knows who Illy is because he watches. And people in his circle know who he is because they watch. Because I remember going to one of his training sessions and everybody was talking, taking pictures. Dc, dc, dc. I've been retired for five years. The sport's bigger today than when I was fighting. But they watch. They watch. He knows who Ilya is. I think that's his way of no selling. Ilya saying, this guy's not on the level because Conor got it done, because he was a master star. I agree there. He's not Conor yet. He isn't Conor McGregor. He carries himself like Conor in a lot of ways. He's a true professional. People are tapped into him. His country loves him, so many MMA fans love him. But I don't think that he has that. That appeal of Conor McGregor. Next. So I see what Bud is doing. I said, he's going well, not yet. He's not there. But in terms of a real guy that can box, that's Illy. It's a pori for MMA fighters. He has that ability. We saw Francis go out there and fight Tyson Fury, and that sold Ilia tepoia, to me, is a bigger star than Francis Ngannou. Maybe I'm wrong, but right now I think he was the biggest star right in France. But the reason people believed in Big Frank was because he could knock people out. 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Ilia responds to Bud now. Hey, all of this seems petty, right? Ilia said, yeah. You say you're an MMA fan, but you don't even know who I am. Interesting. The first time we met, you told me, good luck this week with your fight, your memory fails you, and soon your chin will too. I'll represent the entire MMA community pound for pound number one in real fights versus the pound for pound number one boxer in the world. Hey, guys, Bud is saying it ain't worth his time. Bud is saying he's not on the level, but Ilya Taforia in this right now, guys, is winning. He's winning because he has him talking about him. And every time, every time Terrence Crawford speaks Ilya's name. Every time Terrence Crawford addresses Ilya Toporia. Every time Ilia addresses Terrence and he responds, Ilia wins. That's another step closer to getting to what he wants. Now, should he fight Terrence Crawford? No, I don't believe that he's going to be able to handle Terrence Crawford in a boxing ring. But I've doubted Ilya to Poirier before, and he has exceeded everything I could have ever imagined inside the Octagon. But when you look at what Bud did to Canelo, you look at what he's done over the entirety of his career, this guy's just next level boxer. And it's hard to step into that world and expect a guy from our sport, a guy who spent equal amounts of time grappling boxing, wrestling and everything else, to go and be the guy that's done nothing but box his entire life. That's why we haven't seen it yet. And that's why our guys that go over to boxing after they're done with fighting do well, but they don't ascend to become world champions. It because there are kids that grow up with that being their life. The Dagestanis said, hey, the reason guys are winning now is because we have no choice. This changes our life in America or other places. You have an option. Terrence didn't have an option. Not in Omah. Terrence had to make this work, and he did. That's why he is who he is today. I don't know. I don't know that this fight happens, but I'm telling you guys, every time we talk about it, every time they talk each other's name, the better. Now, granted, he was on an MMA program show with Ariel Wanu, so clearly that was going to be brought up. But he's talking Ilya and he seems annoyed by Ilya. So if I'm Ilya Toporia, I continue. I don't stop, I don't relent. I continue to speak Bud Crawford, especially when my next fight is announced where all eyes are on me and I'm out there promoting, I'm promoting my fight, but I'm also promoting the idea that I'm in line for a super fight in a whole different sport. That's what I would do if I'm Team Topuria, because right now, they're winning. They're winning. They're winning because Bud has no clear person who he's supposed to fight next. So that leads to opportunity for a guy like Ilya to pour you. All right, guys, hey, until next time, like, subscribe and tell your friends about my YouTube channel. I'm going crazy right now. We're doing more stuff. We're starting longer interviews. We're doing sit downs, guys. You'll be so excited and surprised at what we got going. We're working, baby. We're working behind the scenes a little bit right now. We're working. I know we've been a little slow. We still working. And so is Ilia Toria. At least his plan is in regards to Bud Crawford.

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