Ilia Topuria News

Ilia Topuria's coach explains why his fighter wants to move up to UFC lightweight division: 'He don't want to do this anymore'
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 12, 2024
Ilia Topuria has expressed a desire to move on from the featherweight division, and his coach has explained why. Topuria is the reigning UFC featherweight titleholder. He’s had one successful title defense and that was a huge knockout victory over Max Holloway at UFC 308 back in October. To capture the gold at 145 pounds, Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski. While some might say a move to lightweight is too soon for Topuria, he’s already beat two future UFC Hall of Famers and stalwarts of the featherweight division.

Paddy Pimblett gives his thoughts on Ilia Topuria's potential lightweight move
Harry Kettle - December 12, 2024
UFC star Paddy Pimblett has given his thoughts on Ilia Topuria potentially making the move up to lightweight. For the longest time, Paddy Pimblett has been one of the biggest names in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While you may not be a big fan of him, nobody can deny the success he’s enjoyed since arriving in the promotion a few years ago.

Daniel Cormier shares interesting theory on Ilia Topuria's callout of Charles Oliveira
Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 11, 2024
Daniel Cormier has shared why he thinks Ilia Topuria called out Charles Oliveira. Topuria is the reigning UFC featherweight champion, but he has flirted with the idea of moving up to lightweight. In fact, he has already shown interest in expediting the process. More recently, “El Matador” suggest a clash with Oliveira where the winner gets a shot at the 155-pound gold.

Conor McGregor calls out 'wannabe' featherweight champ Ilia Topuria
Zain Bando - December 10, 2024
Conor McGregor is back beefing with champions instead of worrying about his personal issues. Based on McGregor’s status with the UFC and Dana White’s non-committal stance regarding McGregor’s legal troubles, a return to MMA is anything but priority.

Ilia Topuria claims he is moving on from featherweight, targets #1 contender bout with Charles Oliveira at lightweight
Harry Kettle - December 10, 2024
UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has sensationally revealed that he could be planning on moving up to lightweight in the near future. For the longest time, Ilia Topuria has served as one of the most impressive fighters in all of mixed martial arts. For the most part, his accomplishments have come at featherweight, which is the division in which he currently holds the gold right now. Moving forward, the expectation was that he’d stay there and defend his crown – at least a few times, if he’s able to do so.

Islam Makhachev downplays future fight against fellow UFC champion Ilia Topuria: "What will that do for me?"
Josh Evanoff - December 4, 2024
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev isn’t very interested in facing Ilia Topuria. ‘El Matador’ is fresh off his return to the octagon in the main event of UFC 308 in October. Back for the first time since knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in February, Ilia Topuria met Max Holloway. Ahead of the contest, both featherweights were discussing a move to 155 pounds. For his part, ‘Blessed’ was coming off a knockout win over Justin Gaethje in April.

Charles Oliveira cautions Ilia Topuria against moving up to lightweight: “This is a very tough division”
Harry Kettle - November 15, 2024
Charles Oliveira has cautioned Ilia Topuria against moving up to lightweight as he continues to shine at featherweight. There’s a lot to be said for the rise of Ilia Topuria. Over the course of the last few years, he has emerged as one of the best fighters in mixed martial arts. In his last two fights, he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski and proceeded to knock out Max Holloway – which is an absolutely crazy two-bout streak to have on your resume.

UFC legend thinks Ilia Topuria is on pace to surpass Conor McGregor's stardom
Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 8, 2024
One former UFC title challenger believes Ilia Topuria is on track to run past Conor McGregor in terms of stardom. Topuria has certainly seen his stock soar thanks to his success rate inside the Octagon. It also helps that Topuria is charismatic and has become a big name in Spain. After results such as being the first fighter to knock Max Holloway out, Topuria might just see himself becoming the hottest active star in the UFC.

UFC commentator Joe Rogan dubs Ilia Topuria as being MMA’s new “high water mark”
Harry Kettle - November 4, 2024
UFC commentator Joe Rogan has had high praise for Ilia Topuria as he continues his reign as the featherweight king. At this point, it’s impossible to deny that Ilia Topuria is one of the best fighters in mixed martial arts. In his last two fights alone, he’s managed to knock out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. If that doesn’t prove what kind of fighter we’re dealing with, we’re not sure what would.

Ilia Topuria’s mother says it was a “daily routine” for ‘El Matador’ to fight in the streets: “It was not rare”
Harry Kettle - November 4, 2024
Ilia Topuria’s mother has said that it was pretty common for the UFC star to fight in the streets when he was younger. Right now, Ilia Topuria is widely considered to be one of the best fighters on the planet. He has dominated the featherweight division and in his last two fights, he’s been able to knock out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. In the modern age, you just don’t see runs of form like that.

Diego Lopes makes his case for the next crack at Ilia Topuria and offers to fight him in Spain: “This fight will be a renewal”
Harry Kettle - November 1, 2024
UFC star Diego Lopes has made it crystal clear that he wants the next shot at UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. Over the course of the last few years, Diego Lopes has emerged as a real contender at featherweight. He has dusted off a parade of big names, including Brian Ortega most recently. Now, he has his eyes on the prize – the UFC featherweight championship.

Sean O'Malley still gives Ilia Topuria problems in UFC fight, says coach Tim Welch
Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 31, 2024
Sean O’Malley’s coach Tim Welch has full belief in his fighter to give Ilia Topuria some issues if they ever fight. O’Malley may have lost the UFC Bantamweight Championship to Merab Dvalishvili back in September, but Welch believes a future clash with Topuria remains possible. Obviously, the “Suga” show will need to focus on regaining the 135-pound gold before looking at the featherweight king.

Dana White reveals talks are ongoing for UFC event in Spain next year
Harry Kettle - October 30, 2024
UFC president Dana White has claimed that talks are ongoing for the promotion to host an event in Spain next year. As we know, Ilia Topuria is currently one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts. Last weekend, he cemented that reputation with a knockout win over Max Holloway. He’s done some great things for the UFC already, and that includes raising the profile of Spanish fighters in the promotion.

Diego Lopes calls to face Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 312 in interim title fight: "Ilia wants to take time off..."
Josh Evanoff - October 29, 2024
If Ilia Topuria is taking time off, Diego Lopes wants Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 312 in Australia. ‘El Matador’ returned to the octagon in the main event of UFC 308 over the weekend. Back for the first time since winning featherweight gold against Alexander Volkanovski in February, Ilia Topuria met ‘Blessed’. Max Holloway earned the title shot with a stunning knockout victory over Justin Gaethje in April.

Alexander Volkanovski believes Ilia Topuria could KO Islam Makhachev if he tries champ-champ status
Cole Shelton - October 29, 2024
Alexander Volkanovski believes that Ilia Topuria could become a champ-champ if he tries to. Topuria is the UFC’s featherweight champion and is coming off a TKO win over Max Holloway to defend his belt at UFC 308. He became the first person to knockout Holloway, as he showed off his insane power.

Ilia Topuria should be 2024 'Fighter of the Year,' says former UFC veteran Matt Brown
Fernando Quiles Jr. - October 29, 2024
Former UFC veteran Matt Brown believes Ilia Topuria should be a lock for the 2024 “Fighter of the Year.” Topuria has certainly made a strong case for himself. “El Matador” knocked out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Topuria actually became the first fighter to score a KO win over “Blessed.”

Aljamain Sterling confident he can neutralize Ilia Topuria's offense in future fight: "I'm making it a grappling match"
Josh Evanoff - October 28, 2024
Aljamain Sterling is already eyeing a matchup with UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. ‘El Matador’ returned to the octagon in the main event of UFC 308 over the weekend. Back for the first time since winning featherweight gold in February, Ilia Topuria faced Max Holloway. ‘Blessed’ earned the opportunity with a stunning fifth-round knockout win over Justin Gaethje in April. However, Topuria handed the Hawaiian a stoppage loss on Saturday.

Alexander Volkanovski is still eyeing an early 2025 rematch against Ilia Topuria: "I've got one last crack at the title"
Josh Evanoff - October 28, 2024
Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is ready for a rematch with Ilia Topuria. ‘El Matador’ returned to the cage in the main event of UFC 308 over the weekend. Back for the first time since defeating Alexander Volkanovski in February, Ilia Topuria faced Max Holloway. The longtime featherweight earned another shot at gold in April, scoring a fifth-round knockout victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.