UFC President Dana White explained why Ilia Topuria was vacating his featherweight title.
Since his last fight, Topuria has called out lightweight champion Islam Makhachev multiple times.
Following Topuria’s decision, when UFC 314’s Main Event begins, it means the featherweight division will temporarily be without a champion.
Dana White Explains Ilia Topuria Decision to Vacate Featherweight Title
After announcing a vast amount of changes to UFC events late last night, Dana White also revealed that Ilia Topuria would vacate his featherweight title. White explained on Instagram Live,
“Topuria has felt like he’s done all he can in that division, and he feels like he’s cemented his legacy, and his body cannot make the weight anymore. So Topuria will be moving up to 155 pounds and will be vacating the featherweight title. … As soon as the first punch is thrown in (Volkanovski vs. Lopes), the title is vacated.
“We will announce what Topuria’s next fight will be when we get it done.”
In addition, it confirms that either the winner of Diego Lopes or Alexander Volkanovski will be crowned champion. It also opens up a return for Max Holloway to assert himself back into title contention.
Islam Makhachev Potentially Waits for Spaniard
Following his last UFC fight, which resulted in a devastating knockout of Max Holloway, Ilia Topuria has focused his efforts on materialising a fight against Islam Makhachev. The Dagestani fighter who holds the lightweight title would be an interesting matchup for Topuria. Blessed with incredible grappling and sambo-style wrestling, Islam has established himself as one of the greatest lightweights the UFC has ever seen.
Furthermore, with Islam Makhachev fresh off a victory over Renato Moicano, his coach Javier Mendez suggested that Arman Tsarukyan would be the next contender. However, he did suggest that the final decision rests with the UFC. Dana White has some interesting matchups he could make and announce soon. For the minute, fans are left to wonder what could happen in the future at 145 and 155 pounds.
How would a fight between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev pan out? Let us know in the comments below!
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