Ilia Topuria has left MMA fans and pundits surprised with his interest in moving to lightweight. After defending his featherweight title against Max Holloway at UFC 308, he gave Holloway his first knockout defeat.
‘El Matador’ was expected to face Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch of their UFC 298 fight, where Topuria claimed the title by knocking out ‘The Great’ in round two.
Although Topuria and Volkanovski had a faceoff at UFC 308, recent weeks have seen a change of heart in the 27-year-old fighter.
His coach, Jorge Climent, addressed Topuria’s plans in a recent interview on Submission Radio following Topuria’s comments. Climent confirmed his champion’s decision, saying:
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“The truth is, he despises cutting weight. It’s getting harder with each attempt. He’s been through the worst of it, and he wants to move up to the next weight class.” [0:35-1:02]
Climent also addressed the potential rematch with Volkanovski:
“I don’t believe he will defend the featherweight title. His intention is to move up to lightweight… He aims to challenge ranked opponents for the championship… If Alex competes in the featherweight division, I doubt we’ll face him again.” [3:55-4:27]
Listen to Jorge Climent’s insights on Ilia Topuria below:
Ilia Topuria Shares Possible Retirement Timeline
Ilia Topuria has set his sights on a second UFC world title with his recent comments about moving to lightweight for a potential match against Charles Oliveira.
Considered one of MMA’s top talents, the 27-year-old has high expectations in the sport, hinting at holding numerous promotional records before his career ends.
Recently, the featherweight champion discussed a tentative timeline for retirement from MMA, which may come as a surprise to many fans.
In an interview with Spanish news outlet El Partidazio de COPE, Topuria discussed his retirement plans. The translated comments, shared by @ChampRDS, include:
“I’m 27. I hope to be done by the time I’m 30… I no longer feel motivated to defend my current belt in my division. It’s time to move up a weight class and see where that takes me.”
Read Ilia Topuria’s statements below:
Edited by Harvey Leonard
