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Ilia Topuria said the UFC promised its next battle for the lightweight title, after evacuating the featherweight belt in February.
While Topuria has been hinting in recent months that he could rise up to 155 pounds in an attempt to win a second title, his decision to vacate the gold of 145 pounds had a surprise. As a result, Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes was booked for April 12, as the pair clashes for the vacant featherweight tape in the main event of UFC 314.
Meanwhile, Topuria does not know when he will enter the Octagon next time, but he seems to know what the game will be.
“I’m not quite sure what my next fight will be,” Topuria said at a press conference in Spanish. “The only thing I’m sure of is that the UFC’s word is that my next struggle for the world title will be. That’s all I know.
“If it’s going to be Islam after that, if it’s going to be Charles, I have no idea. The belt will be on the point. It will be on the point, it was the promise to leave my title vacant. They always fulfilled their promises. ‘
The Spanish Georgian referred to the ruling lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and his predecessor Charles Oliveira; While Topuria’s move to lightweight is expected to catch up with a title shot, it is possible that Makhachev could defend its belt first, with Oliveira a potential opponent.
In October 2022, Makhachev Oliveira filed to win the title, and they were for a re -broadcast 12 months later, only for the Brazilian to get a serious cut and withdrew at short notice.
If Oliveira is the Russian next challenger, and if he can profane Makhachev – which has a record of four successful title defense at 155 pounds, he can set up a resentment match with Topuria.
Still, Topuria, 28, defended the recent criticism of Oliveira and said: ‘I haven’t dissolved him yet, I told the truth. He has ten losses. I haven’t said anything else yet. He has ten losses – five by Knockout, four per submission, one for decision.
“He says [lightweight] is the hardest section there is. When he was fighting at 145, even Cub Swanson saved him. This is where the conversation ends.
“Something he couldn’t achieve at 145 pounds, he did at 155, where he became champion. So why is the section more difficult than the one I come from? I don’t find any logic in it, which is why I said he didn’t seem to read a single page of a newspaper. So, if it’s not respectful …
The unbeaten Topuria fought last in October and knocked out former champion Max Holloway to retain the featherweight belt. In his previous fight, Topuria Alexander Volkanovski knocked out to win the band in February.
Meanwhile, Makhachev retained his title in January with a presentation by Renato Moicano, who replaced the injured Arman Tsarukyan on one day’s notice. And the last match of Oliveira was a decisive victory over Michael Chandler in November, a re -broadcast of their 2021 match, which Oliveira won by Knockout.
Makhachev, 33, teased the idea of moving to welterweight, although he is unlikely to do so while Belal Muhammad is the champion, after the latter has started training with Makhachev over the past year. Muhammad will defend the Welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena in May.
Topuria has been a hot topic of conversation over the past few weeks, while fans are waiting for his next move, which coincided with the Spanish-Georgian announcing his new nickname: “La Leyenda” (“The Legend”), which replaces “The Matador”.
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