The MMA Fighter of the Year lists for 2024 are in. And predictably, these are split between UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and featherweight king Ilia Topuria. Since various MMA outlets publish their own lists, some of them have picked Topuria, while others gave the prize to Pereira. In fact, the race is so close that UFC.com had Topuria and Pereira tied for first place in their Fighter of the Year list.

But as far as UFC commentator and former champ Daniel Cormier is concerned, there is no doubt in his mind who deserves to be 2024’s Fighter of the Year- Ilia Topuria. “He’s [Topuria’s] beating these greats when they are still in their prime and still fighting at the highest level… I don’t know if one of Pereira’s wins or three of Pereira’s wins outweigh in terms of importance the two that Ilia Topuria had,” Cormier said on his ‘Good Guy/ Bad Guy’ show on ESPN MMA.

And he does make a good case. After all, Topuria bulldozered through two of the greatest featherweights of all time (Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway) in 12 months. And both were known for their granite chins, warrior spirit, and being nigh unstoppable!

On the other hand, the Brazilian juggernaut defended his title three times this year alone, two of them coming against former champions. Oh, and ‘Poatan’ also knocked out all three of his opponents. It is safe to say that both men have had stellar years, with Pereira taking the edge in sheer quantity. However, as Cormier pointed out, when it comes to the quality of their wins, Topuria’s resume for 2024 is miles ahead.

Why does Daniel Cormier think Ilia Topuria’s two 2024 wins trump Alex Pereira’s three?

But as far as the quality of opponents is concerned, Topuria takes the cake hands-down. In the case of the Volkanovski win, one could say that the Aussie former champ was coming off a tough, knockout loss to Islam Makhachev just four months prior to the Topuria fight. And a case could be made that ‘Volk’ was not at his best and softened up by the Dagestani phenom.

On the other hand, Pereira defeated Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, with the latter coming off of an injury and a year and a half of sitting out. Pereira’s second fight was at UFC 303 against Jiri Prochazka, whom he had already defeated in November 2023. Not to mention the Czech former champ was also coming into the event off of a fight just two months ago.

But Pereira’s third and final opponent for 2024 was the worst of the lot. Khalil Rountree Jr. is a good and exciting fighter, don’t get us wrong! But the thing is that ‘The War Horse’ was ranked all the way down at #8 in the division when he was roped in to fight Pereira at UFC 307. So if one is to really get into the nitty-gritties of Pereira and Topuria’s wins this year, Cormier’s position does seem to have a lot of merit. What do you think about ‘DC’s take on Topuria and Pereira’s wins this year?