No Three-Division Dreams! Ilia Topuria’s Promise to Dana White Revealed

Newly crowned lightweight champion Ilia Topuria reveals his latest deal with Dana White about moving up.

No Three-Division Dreams! Ilia Topuria’s Promise to Dana White Revealed

Ilia Topuria shares that UFC doesn't want him to move up (via Instagram)

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At UFC 317, Ilia Topuria made history by becoming the new lightweight champion after knocking out Charles Oliveira in round one. The Georgian-Spanish fighter secured his second UFC belt, adding the lightweight title to his previously earned featherweight championship in dominant fashion.
His move was successful, but his future dreams might now be in serious jeopardy.

A few months ago, Topuria shocked everybody by claiming he wants to become the first three-division UFC champion before turning thirty. Following Islam Makhachev‘s decision to move up to the welterweight division, Topuria discussed potentially moving up and capturing the 170-lbs title. However, after UFC 317, Topuria revealed that the promotion currently does not support that idea.

I thought about it but they personally asked me a favor like, ‘Don’t tell us, after the fight, that you wanna move up to the welterweight division.’ Made us a promise and I was like, ’Promise’.

Ilia Topuria via UFC

Times when fighters often chased double-champion status are now gone, and UFC clearly does not want that from champions anymore. Champions like Alexandre Pantoja and Merab Dvalishvili has ruled out moving up a weight class. In both Topuria and Makhachev’s cases, where they initially wanted double champ status, but were allegedly forced to relinquish their titles.

After his latest win, Topuria has gained more popularity, giving UFC a big opportunity to sell pay-per-views with lightweight defenses. For the welterweight division, the promotion has other plans, including the highly anticipated title fight between Jack Della Maddalena and Makhachev.

According to the Dagestani, he has already discussed with Dana White about making the fight happen inside the iconic Madison Square Garden. Apart from that, Topuria has mentioned he felt extremely good cutting weight to 155-lbs and will remain in the division.

Ilia Topuria gets called out by a long-standing rival

After knocking out Charles Oliveira, Ilia Topuria openly called out all the other top contenders in the lightweight division. Among them, top fighter Paddy Pimblett came out of the octagon side and engaged in an intense faceoff with Topuria. The Georgian-Spanish verbally abused Pimblett and confidently claimed he would submit him if they ever fought in the future.

Ilia Topuria gets a strong warning from Paddy Pimblett
Ilia Topuria gets a strong warning from Paddy Pimblett (via X)

He even aggressively pushed Pimblett, adding more fuel to their heated rivalry and intensifying the tension between both lightweight fighters. However, during the post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed he didn’t like Pimblett entering the octagon uninvited after the fight.

Now, fans are hyped for the grudge bout that goes back to a fateful night in 2022, where both fighters engaged in a beef. Furthermore, in an ESPN MMA interview, Pimblett said his rivalry with Topuria was real and needed no gimmicks.

We have got history. You don’t even need to like sell that fight. It sells itself. Two people who genuinely dislike each other. You don’t really get that. I hate him. I wouldn’t even want to finish him fast. I want to finish him with a minute left in the fight after I’ve elbowed him 700 times. I want to disfigure him.

Paddy Pimblett via ESPN MMA

Pimblett even compared this rivalry to the iconic battle between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor that happened at UFC 229. According to Topuria, this was the biggest possible fight for the UFC right now, and it definitely should happen in Spain. The newly crowned champion also mentioned that destroying Pimblett would be much easier than beating a fan favorite like Oliveira.

The division also has other top contenders like Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan, who are desperate to get an opportunity. Topuria has shown some interest in fighting the Armenian, given their recent online back-and-forth. As per Gaethje, the ‘El Matador’ doesn’t consider it a touch battle according to his standards.

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