Ilia Topuria clarified that he is not vacating his UFC featherweight title and has not decided to move to the lightweight division yet, despite earlier suggestions, and he emphasized that any decision will be made independently.
Ilia Topuria has something to say to his fellow featherweights. Earlier this week, the UFC champ hinted he might leave the 145-pound division behind. He’s thinking about moving up to lightweight.
Diego Lopes, a top contender, quickly proposed a fight with Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant title. But guess what? That didn’t sit well with Topuria.
On Thursday, “El Matador” made it clear: he’s not vacating his title anytime soon. His move to lightweight? Not set in stone yet.
In a tweet, Topuria declared, “I will not leave the title vacant.” The decision to move up is his alone. No talks with the UFC have happened yet, so nothing’s final. He told everyone to stop celebrating because he’s staying put for now.
Topuria’s got his eyes on Fighter of the Year for 2024. Why? He knocked out Volkanovski to snag the featherweight title and then defended it by doing the same to Max Holloway.
A rematch with Volkanovski seemed like the next step—until Topuria dropped hints about changing weight classes. Now, who knows what’s coming next?