“Stop celebrating,” Ilia Topuria comes clean about his future at 145lbs; Eyeing second title in 2025
Ilia Topuria keeps fellow UFC featherweights in check as he teases the opportunity to move up to the lightweight division.
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Ilia Topuria sends message to other top featherweights (via Imago)
Ilia Topuria has solidified his place as one of the UFC’s brightest superstars. In his most recent fight, the Georgian-Spaniard made a statement by achieving the unthinkable, knocking out Max Holloway. With the entire MMA community eagerly anticipating, the featherweight champion has some crucial decisions to address regarding his future.
Recently, Topuria’s coach revealed that the fighter had trouble making the 145 lbs mark and wants to move up. As a result, there might not be a title rematch between Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski. However, in a recent tweet, the champ has made his intentions clear regarding the championship.
I will not leave the title vacant. The decision to move up to the next category is entirely mine. I haven’t had any conversations with the UFC yet, so everything is still to be decided. Stop celebrating because I’m not going anywhere. I have conquered my division and I will do the same in the next one.
Ilia Topuria via X
Other than Volkanovski, the featherweight division is stacked with some incredible talents such as Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev. With his latest win at UFC 310, fans are excited to see Evloev fight Topuria for the title. It seems like the champion is well aware of these challenges and doesn’t want them to take a breath of relaxation.
I will not leave the title vacant. The decision to move up to the next category is entirely mine. I haven't had any conversations with the UFC yet, so everything is still to be decided. Stop celebrating because I’m not going anywhere. I have conquered my division and I will do…
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) December 12, 2024
Topuria has always talked about getting double champion status, even dreaming about becoming a three-division champion. However, with Islam Makhachev defending the lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan, ‘El Matador’ has called out Charles Oliveira.
Ilia Topuria’s sense of invincibility is good for UFC
Ilia Topuria is undoubtedly one of the most skilled fighters in the world of mixed martial arts. The fighter has incredible grappling topped with lethal striking prowess. Apart from that, Topuria understands the fight business and knows how to sell pay-per-views.
For the UFC, Topuria is a golden asset—an unstoppable force with the confidence and skill set of a top-tier fighter. In a recent podcast, former champion Kamaru Usman discussed Topuria’s immense potential. He emphasized how the UFC could capitalize on his current momentum to maximize their success.
When you have that aura of invincibility, there’s just something about that…Ilia Topuria has that, right now. He does not care. ‘Put up Conor, I will put him to sleep. Put up Charles Oliveira, I will put him to sleep. Put up Islam, I’m putting him to sleep. Him calling for a fight like this, I think the UFC, 100 percent, you give him what he wants.
Kamaru Usman via Pound 4 Pound Podcast
Henry Cejudo was also a part of this conversation and seconded Usman’s idea. However, on top of that, Triple C explained the difference between fighting Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev. Nevertheless, all this has definitely increased the anticipation among fight fans.
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Ameetosh Dash
(898 Articles Published)