Ilia Topuria has said the UFC ‘promised’ his next fight will be for the lightweight title, after he vacated the featherweight belt in February.
While Topuria had hinted in recent months that he could move up to 155lb in a bid to win a second title, his decision to vacate the 145lb gold came as a surprise. It led to Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes being booked for 12 April, as the pair clash for the vacant featherweight strap in the main event of UFC 314.
Meanwhile, Topuria does not know when he will next enter the Octagon, but he does appear to know what the stakes will be.
“I’m not entirely sure what my next fight will be,” Topuria said in Spanish at a press conference. “The only thing I’m sure of is that the UFC’s word is that my next fight will be for the world title. That’s all I know.
“Afterwards, if it’s going to be Islam, if it’s going to be Charles, I have no idea. The belt will be on the line. It will be on the line, that was the promise for leaving my title vacant. They’ve always kept their promises.”
The Spanish-Georgian was referring to reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and his predecessor Charles Oliveira; while Topuria’s move to lightweight is expected to herald a title shot, it is possible that Makhachev could defend his belt first, with Oliveira a potential opponent.
In October 2022, Makhachev submitted Oliveira to win the title, and they were scheduled for a rematch 12 months later, only for the Brazilian to suffer a severe cut and withdraw on short notice.
If Oliveira is the Russian’s next challenger, and if he can dethrone Makhachev – who has a record four successful title defences at 155lb – he could set up a grudge match with Topuria.
Yet Topuria, 28, defended recent criticism of Oliveira, saying: “I haven’t dissed him, I’ve told the truth. He has 10 losses. I haven’t said anything else. He has 10 losses – five by knockout, four by submission, one by decision. He says [lightweight] is the toughest division there is. When he was fighting at 145, even Cub Swanson beat him up. That’s where the conversation ends.
“Something he couldn’t achieve at 145lb, he did at 155, where he became champion. So, why is that division tougher than the one I come from? I don’t find any logic in it, and that’s why I said it seems like he hasn’t read a single page of a newspaper. So, if that’s disrespectful… I don’t know since when telling the truth is disrespectful.”
The unbeaten Topuria last fought in October, knocking out former champion Max Holloway to retain the featherweight belt. In his previous fight, Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to win the strap in February.
Meanwhile, Makhachev retained his title in January with a submission of Renato Moicano, who replaced the injured Arman Tsarukyan on one day’s notice. And Oliveira’s last bout was a decision win over Michael Chandler in November, a rematch of their 2021 bout, which Oliveira won by knockout.
Makhachev, 33, has teased the idea of moving up to welterweight, though he is unlikely to do so while Belal Muhammad is champion, after the latter began training with Makhachev in recent years. Muhammad is due to defend the welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena in May.
Topuria has been a hot topic of conversation in recent weeks, as fans await his next move, which has coincided with the Spanish-Georgian announcing his new nickname: “La Leyenda” (“the legend”), which replaces “El Matador” (“the matador”).
