Demetrious Johnson Claims Ilia Topuria's Skills Made Him Sit Up & Take Notice Ahead Of UFC 298: 'Last Person I Felt That About Was Conor McGregor'

ONE Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson recently had some high praise for Ilia Topuria. 

At UFC 298, "El Matador" will challenge longtime 145-pound kingpin Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight championship. In the lead-up to the fight, the supremely confident Topuria has mocked Volkanovski's skills, and even billed himself as the new champ already on social media. 

Unsurprisingly, Volkanovski - who has never lost in the weight class - has taken exception to Topuria's antics, and has vowed to humble him. 

But according to "Mighty Mouse," that might be easier said than done...

'Very High IQ, Very Good Boxing' - Johnson On Topuria Ahead Of UFC 298 Title Shot

During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson shared his thoughts on the upcoming UFC 298 main event. 

When it comes to Topuria, Johnson is reminded of none other than UFC megastar Conor McGregor.

In "El Matador," Johnson sees the earlier days of McGregor's rise to stardom in the UFC, citing the performance "The Notorious" put on against Diego Brandão at UFC Fight Night 46 in particular.  There, McGregor lit Brandão up with strikes for the first-round TKO win. 

"The biggest thing for him is just going out there and fighting Ilia Topuria, who has a high IQ, very good boxing," Johnson said. "I will say this, it's not very often I see somebody fight, and they do certain things, and I'm like, 'Oh, yeah, okay.' Like, I think the last person who I felt that way about, to be honest, was Conor McGregor.

"When he fought Diego Brandão, like, the way he would control distance, and how he would move, and he would throw the strikes and miss the counter and, like, just that how he puts himself into fire, I see Ilia Topuria do that."