In knocking down two of the biggest featherweights in UFC history in Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, Ilia Topuria has opted move up to the lightweight division.
In February 2024, Topuria knocked out Volkanovski in second round of UFC 298. He then defended his title from knocking out Holloway at UFC 308 last October.
He relinquished the title to attempt becoming a two-division UFC champion, but lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev doesn’t think Topuria deserves a 155-pound title fight.
Topuria says that the fight promotion promised him a title fight against Makhachev and that he’d wait as long as it takes to get it.