Charles Oliveira once again cemented his name in the UFC history books after defeating Max Holloway to become the fourth BMF champion in UFC history. While ‘Do Bronx’s performance has drawn praise and some backlash across the MMA world, the Brazilian’s former opponent has received recognition from Joe Rogan and other prominent figures in the sport.

Following the main event at the T-Mobile Arena, Joe Rogan praised Charles Oliveira’s dominant showing, but he also gave Ilia Topuria his flowers for swiftly dealing with the Brazilian at UFC 317 in just a single round.

“I got 10 text messages going, that tells you how great Ilia Topuria is,” Daniel Cormier said while discussing the fight on the UFC 326 post-fight show. “Because he went through him easy,” he added.

“Like a knife through butter,” Rogan replied. “I mean, we’re talking about a generational talent in that guy.”

Well, it won’t be a stretch to say that the commentators were not wrong to praise Ilia Topuria. Why? It’s because the Georgian-Spaniard champion showed immense confidence before facing Oliveira during last year’s International Fight Week and even predicted a first-round knockout. When the fight actually happened, ‘El Matador’ displayed his sharp skills, controlled Oliveira in a tight side-control crucifix position, and then unleashed a clean 2-3 combination to finish the fight.

However, Topuria’s dominance carries another interesting detail that makes his victory age even better. Statistics show that each of the reigning lightweight champion’s last three opponents bounced back with wins after losing to him. With that trend in mind, it actually pushes aside the criticism that Topuria only defeats “washed” fighters.

In this case, Charles Oliveira has now built a two-fight win streak, highlighted by a victory over Max Holloway that further strengthens ‘Do Bronxs’ legacy. At the same time, it makes Ilia Topuria’s first-round knockout over him at UFC 317 look even more impressive in hindsight.

That said, while Joe Rogan rightly gave Ilia Topuria his flowers, the longtime UFC commentator also did something equally significant for Oliveira. What exactly did Rogan say about ‘Do Bronxs’?

Joe Rogan called out crowd for booing Charles Oliveira at UFC 326

Ahead of the BMF fight at UFC 326, fans expected an iconic back-and-forth encounter as the two legends ran it back after 11 years. As Holloway won the encounter, he entered UFC 326 as the betting favorite. Instead, Charles Oliveira’s dominant takedown attempts shut down Max Holloway’s striking across five rounds and turned the fight into a one-sided affair.

In the fourth round, when the former lightweight champion controlled the action on the ground, the crowd started booing because of the lack of striking exchanges inside the cage. Joe Rogan, however, did not agree with the reaction and called out the entire T-Mobile Arena audience from the commentary desk.

“Listen to these casuals booing,” Rogan said during the live broadcast while criticizing the crowd for turning on Oliveira.

Many fans might agree with the UFC color commentator. In the fight, ‘Do Bronxs’ left Max Holloway baffled with his jiu-jitsu and wrestling, and he deserves credit for such a dominant showing. However, some prominent voices in the MMA community pushed back and argued that the performance did not represent the spirit of the BMF title.

Among them, Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz voiced their disappointment. Looking at the performance, the UFC stars argued that Oliveira relied too heavily on wrestling and very little striking, which took away from the purpose of the belt. Why? Traditionally, the BMF belt celebrates the best scrappers inside the octagon, not dominant wrestlers.

That said, what do you think about Charles Oliveira’s performance at UFC 326? And does Ilia Topuria deserve even more praise for knocking out both headliners? Let us know in the comments section below.