Ilia Topuria teases UFC fight news so big ‘you won’t believe it’
Ilia Topuria has suggested that he’s booked an out of left field UFC fight.
The featherweight champion hasn’t fought since knocking out Max Holloway at UFC 308 in October.
Recently, it was announced ‘El Matador’ will be vacating his 145lb title to pursue lightweight glory.
It’ll officially become vacant just before Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes square off for the belt at UFC 314 on April 12 – but Ilia Topuria probably won’t mind after seemingly booking a fight for the ages.
On Thursday, Topuria sent MMA fans into frenzy with a 10-word post on social media.
“When we announce it, you won’t believe it. Get ready,” he wrote on X.
Islam Makhachev is the lightweight champion and top of the list of opponents Topuria wants to face.
Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s protege is fresh off a quick submission win over Renato Moicano at UFC 311 in January.
It’s currently unclear who will be his next opponent as there is no obvious number one contender at 155lbs – but Justin Gaethje or Rafael Fiziev could make a strong case when they rematch at UFC 313 on Saturday night.
A clash between Makhachev and Topuria would certainly be massive, but not a shock to fight fans.
So, we’ll just have to wait for UFC boss Dana White to explain what his Spanish star is talking about.
Speaking after the controversial UFC Fight Night Seattle main event between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong, White was asked whether Topuria had vacated the featherweight title himself, or if the UFC had stripped him.
“He did that – he said, ‘I’ve done everything I can do here, I’m ready to move up’ and so he vacated it,” the UFC CEO explained.
“He said that he shouldn’t be holding up anybody’s opportunities and you know, I always respect it when guys do that.”
White kept his cards close to his chest when asked a follow-up question about Topuria vs Makhachev.
He added: “There are still other possibilities, there’s a lot of s— going on right now, otherwise I would’ve said [that fight’s on].”
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UFC NEWS
Ilia Topuria has lightweight gold in his crosshairs.
The now-former UFC featherweight champion surprised the MMA world two weeks ago when the promotion announced he would vacate the 145-pound title in order to move up to the lightweight division. Along with the news came plans for a clash between former featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes for the now-vacant title at UFC 314 in April.
After the announcement, Topuria’s next step felt obvious: An immediate title shot against the reigning 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev. But that fight announcement didn’t immediately follow the others, leaving some open questions about the UFC’s plan for a lightweight Topuria.
Would Topuria really be forced to fight a lightweight contender first? UFC CEO Dana White alluded to the possibility when asked about Topuria that week. But ask Malki Kawa, Topuria’s representative at First Round Management, and he’ll tell you that he doesn’t see how a Makhachev pairing isn’t the next move.
“No one told us we couldn’t fight for the [lightweight] title,” Kawa said Wednesday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “To this day, no one has said, ‘You’re not fighting for the title.’ I’ll leave it there out of respect to everybody else on the other side. No one has told me, ‘No, this is not happening.’
“I don’t know if it even makes sense for them as a promotion to allow him to fight anybody else when he’s a champion. If we’re being honest, this is probably the biggest fight you can make right now outside of [Jon] ‘Bones’ [Jones] vs. [Tom] Aspinall. So I don’t know if there’s another fight out there that’s bigger than this fight. This is the biggest fight you can make.”
Topuria, 28, expressed intentions to eventually move up to lightweight as soon as he began his featherweight championship reign following a second-round knockout of Volkanovski in February 2024. He followed up on that performance by knocking out former champion Max Holloway in Round 3 of their UFC 308 clash this past October — in the process, becoming the first to ever knock out Holloway.
It’s been a star-making run for Topuria to reach a flawless 16-0 record. Should he dethrone Uncrowned’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Makhachev, to secure his second divisional UFC title, he’ll be well on his way to becoming one of the biggest names in the sport’s recent history.
“Here’s what the fear is for a lot of people: What if he does beat Islam?” Kawa asked. “Then you’re talking about, this is the biggest star in the sport at that point, in a long, long time. I don’t mean like any of these other guys aren’t stars. I’m talking about, this guy will start to reach that stratosphere that Conor [McGregor] got to, especially if he wins by KO. This guy has that Mike Tyson-esque thing in him, and if he continues to fight this way, I just don’t know how we’re not looking at the same type of thing as Conor McGregor.”
Topuria has fought at lightweight before. His fourth UFC bout was a one-off that took place in the 155-pound division back in March 2022. Facing England’s Jai Herbert, Topuria weathered some early danger then starched Herbert with a wicked second-round knockout at the 67-second mark of that fight.
Ireland’s McGregor is still the biggest star MMA has known, and the support of his home country helped vault him to superstardom early in his UFC run. Holding roots in Georgia and Spain, Topuria has been touted as the most likely talent to get close to a McGregor-type appeal as an international MMA star.
After what Topuria has already accomplished, Kawa believes that transcendent status is very much achievable.
“I still think he is the next guy, he is the next Conor. That’s kind of a part of what he’s doing,” Kawa said. “You come into the UFC, you get to a title fight within six fights, you go beat arguably the greatest featherweight to ever fight at featherweight. All respect to Volkanovski, because he was a hell of a champion and he went up and fought at 155 [pounds]. Ilia challenged him, knocked him out. No one at ’45 had ever done that to him. Then you go fight Max Holloway, who no one had ever done that to him ever, right? No matter who it is at any weight class.
“The truth is that the weight cut was hard for [Topuria]. When you’ve been in this business for as long as we’ve been in it, you kind of learn certain things. The longevity of fighters, especially at the highest level, when you talk about being a champion, you’re talking about a guy who had to fight the Volkanovkis, the Charles Oliveiras, the Islams, the Maxs — you’re talking about fighting the best guys in the world. So if you’re cutting all that weight, what you’re basically also doing is taking years off your fighting life. This guy’s looking at longevity. He’s looking at the fact that it’s almost a 50-pound cut every time. It’s time to move up to 155.
“I’m confident that Islam will accept it,” Kawa concluded. “I’m confident that we’ll be fighting for that belt, but it’s really not on us. It’s on them. That’s kind of where we’re at with it.”
More from Uncrowned
Dana White Gets an Opponent for Ilia Topuria as Ex-UFC Title Contender Offers to Step In
UFC
Dana White Gets an Opponent for Ilia Topuria as Ex-UFC Title Contender Offers to Step In
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Modified Mar 2, 2025 | 1:46 PM IT
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Since knocking out Max Holloway—whose actual weight class could be lightweight—Ilia Topuria has put the UFC’s 155-lb division on notice. He has also made it clear that he would love nothing more than a super fight with champion Islam Makhachev. Although this will mark Topuria’s permanent move up to lightweight, it won’t be the first time he has fought at that weight during his five-year UFC tenure. But before he gets his wish, “there is a lot of s**t going on right now,” according to Dana White, which means a shot at Makhachev isn’t a formality. Even Chael Sonnen has said that Topuria has to prove himself as a top lightweight before a match against the Dagestani becomes a reality. ‘El Matador’ is also aware that he has to earn his stripes by fighting a top contender before getting a crack at the title. The problem is, who wants to face him?
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To his credit, Topuria has vacated his featherweight title to fully commit to his move to the lightweight division. Although Deigo Lopes claimed that it was UFC that forced his hand since they are no longer willing to stage champion vs champion fights, the reality is that Topuria is more than ready to take on the lightweight division. All he needs is a go-ahead from White over his first opponent on his return to the division and it looks like he might just have a challenger.
At UFC 311, Arman Tsarukyan pulled out of his fight against Makhachev and we saw Renato Moicano step up to save the day. However, this left Beneil Dariush without an opponent, having initially penciled in for a fight against the Brazilian. But ‘Benny’ is eager to find his own way and laid out a challenge for Topuria.
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During a recent conversation with Submission Radio, he said, “To be honest with you bro, like no one seems to want to fight Ilia Topuria. if that’s an option. I take that fight. Bro, he’s such a great fighter. Like, what an opportunity. I’d love to fight him.” But the interviewer, Dennis Shkuratov, was not satisfied. He wanted the Iranian-American fighter to break down the approach against Ilia Topuria. if the match gets the go-ahead of those in power.
Who should Ilia Topuria face next to prove he’s ready for a title shot?
Beneil Dariush
Arman Tsarukyan
Charles Oliveira
Justin Gaethje
Who do you think will overcome their challenges and emerge victorious at UFC 313?
Alex Pereira’s striking power
Magomed Ankalaev’s wrestling skills
Both will struggle
It’s too close to call
Is Beneil Dariush the right test for Ilia Topuria before he gets a shot at the title?
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Is Justin Gaethje’s focus on a potential title shot against Islam Makhachev distracting him from the real challenge at UFC 313 against Rafael Fiziev?
Yes, he’s overlooking Fiziev
No, he’s got it under control
It’s all part of the strategy
Not sure
Is Belal Muhammad right to criticize Ilia Topuria’s move to lightweight?
Yes, Topuria should clear out his division first
No, Topuria made the right call
Muhammad is being hypocritical
It’s all part of the game
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“You have to mitigate his power because he has such power in his hands. You’ve to be able to wrestle with him because he is a great grappler and then ultimately you have to be aware of his ability to change the game. Because everybody whenever they think about Ilia they think about ‘Oh boxing boxing’, but his last two fights both Holloway and Volkanovski, you know what he did? He took advantage,” Dariush explained.
Topuria managed to defeat Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski in his previous last fights and both were KO wins. Well, when his opponents were worried about his boxing, the Spaniard kicked them relentlessly and forced his opponents to break their guard. That’s when he went in with his boxing and dropped Holloway and Volkanovski. Even though Holloway and ‘The Great’ were fast with their strikes, it was Topuria’s precision and power that got him the wins.
Darius throwing his hat in the ring to face Topuria is interesting. If Ilia Topuria can take down a battle-tested veteran like Beneil Dariush, it would instantly legitimize his lightweight ambitions. But if Dariush halts Topuria’s meteoric rise, he won’t just silence the hype—he’ll put himself right back in the title hunt.
According to Dariush, Dana White should indeed pit him together against the Georgian-Spanish fighter. Talking about the challenge of facing Topuria, he added, “You have to be aware where the danger is. And I think the danger is everywhere when you fight a guy like that and, I think I am well-rounded enough to beat him. It’s just it’s going to be about the opportunity. Am I gonna get that opportunity?”
Well, that is a question for Dana White to answer and he might just go in that direction.
Is Beneil Dariush the right test for Ilia Topuria before he gets a shot at the title?
Debate
Last week following UFC Fight Night, White addressed Topuria’s lightweight move and confirmed that he was to relinquish his featherweight title. White said while the fighter had gone about his decision in the correct way, a shot against Makhachev wasn’t a straightforward deal.
“He said, ‘I’ve done everything I can do here, I’m ready to move up’ and he vacated it. He said, ‘I shouldn’t be holding up anybody’s opportunities.’ I respect when guys do that. There’s still other possibilities. A lot of shit going on right now, otherwise, I would have [announced his next fight otherwise],” White said.
While Ilia Topuria has a flawless 16-0 record which includes impressive wins, this won’t be his first foray into the lightweight division. After he signed with UFC, he struggled to find fights at 145lbs and took the chance to fight Jai Herbert at lightweight at UFC London in 2022.
In the opening round, Topuria struggled due to the obvious size disadvantage and even dropped after receiving a head kick. But he managed to survive and in the next round proved his credentials as he knocked out Herbert after landing a right hand. Despite his current stature and previous experience, Chael Sonnen believes Topuria has to prove himself first.
“Ilia is vacating, and no mention of Ilia. It would look as though Ilia is going to have to do a fight first. Ilia vs. Islam right now works, (but) it’s not a massive fight. However, Ilia vs. Islam, if Ilia defeats Charles (Oliveira) first, is a complete other conversation. It can’t go right now – you’ve got to have Ilia prove that he can do it, and that either takes you through (Arman) Tsarukyan or it takes you through Charles,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.
Now the question that remains is who will Ilia Topuria face first now that Beneil Dariush has offered an option to White and Co. Well, back in October 2024, Dariush had a completely different matchup ready for the former featherweight champion.
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Earlier in October 2024, Dariush had a brief conversation with David Schmulenson, popularly known as The Schmo. That was also the time Ilia Topuria defended his title against Max Holloway and expressed his interest in moving up for another title.
As per Dariush, Topuria should have been paired with Arman Tsarukyan. He said, “Maybe it’s Topuria [against Arman Tsarukyan]. If Ilia is coming up, that might be the fight they put together. If Ilia appears, they may stage a fight.” Well, fighting the number one contender would indeed put him closer to the lightweight title shot.
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However, Topuria wanted the championship fight against Makhachev right away. That was the only reason why he jumped to the lightweight division, didn’t he? One of the Spaniard’s close mates said on TASS, “Ilia wants a championship fight. He will not fight for the status of a contender with Tsarukyan or anyone else.” This somehow put Dariush on the sidelines, as well. So, who does he need to fight in order to prove himself worthy of the lightweight title shot?
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On the other hand, there are fighters like the #2 lightweight contender Charles Oliveira, or the #3 lightweight rank holder, Justin Gaethje. Tsarukyan, who was set to fight Makhachev at UFC 311, pulled out of the bout because of his back injury. And that was the thing that cost him his title shot. Now, he has to join Topuria and compete for lightweight title contention.
Who do you think will Ilia Topuria end up fighting? Will it be Beneil Dariush, Arman Tsaruksyan, or another top lightweight? Let us know your thoughts in the comment down below.
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Debate
Is Beneil Dariush The Right Test For Ilia Topuria Before He Gets A Shot At The Title?
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Krushna Prasad Pattnaik
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