Ilia topuria has not yet expressed an interest in competing against the current leader for his title.
After winning the lightweight title earlier this year, Topuria claimed that he’d rather vacate the belt than face Arman Tsarukyan.
‘El Matador’ cited the number one contender’s late notice withdrawal from his planned title fight in January as the reason why he wants nothing to do with the challenger.
Tsarukyan and Topuria recently exchanged comments following the Armenian’s long-awaited return to competition where he produced a dominant victory over Dan Hooker on November 22.
The undefeated champion has only two opponents he wants to fight inside the Octagon.
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Who is the best candidate to win the next lightweight championship?
Ilia Topuria is looking forward to his next fight with Paddy Pimblett and Islam Makhachev
Bloody Elbow users agreed with the UFC’s pound-for-pound ranking when putting Islam Makhachev above Ilia Topuria in the top spot following UFC 322.
Jack Della Maddalena, the former lightweight champ, was defeated by the former welterweight champion on November 15, allowing him to successfully move up in weight classes.
Topuria stated in a recent interview that, if he had his way, he would choose the new champion of 170 pounds as his next opponent.
Next, Islam Makhachev should fight who?
However, there is another fight that he’s interested in taking at lightweight if the UFC doesn’t give him the opportunity to try and become a three-weight champion.
Paddy Pimblett continued to rise in the rankings recently despite not…
2025-11-25 12:00:00
