UFC Veteran Details Major Clause For A Successful Ilia Topuria Lightweight Run

A UFC veteran outlines a key factor for Ilia Topuria’s success at lightweight

Ilia Topuria

Ilia Topuria made one of the biggest decisions of his life. After having won the UFC featherweight championship, he decided to vacate it! Moving up to the lightweight division for a probable opportunity to win the double champ status, Topuria has been in the news recently. As per the plans from the Spaniard’s team, Topuria will likely be facing Islam Makhachev for the title. However, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the same. While a large portion of fans and critics believe that ‘El Matador’ must compete in a title eliminator match, Michael Bisping has an entirely differing opinion.

Speaking on the topic on YouTube, the former UFC fighter stated that getting Topuria a title contender match might be dangerous for the business. This is because in case Topuria losses, the appeal of the match might not be the same for the audiences.

“Ilia is special, but if he lost to them [Justin Gaethje or other top lightweight contenders], there’s a massive market opportunity lost there because Ilia vs. Islam… Ilia with the rise…Ilia still being in a lot of people’s minds the featherweight champion against the lightweight champion. There’s something there. If he loses to Gaethje, but then two or three fights later gets a shot, it’s not quite the same sell,” said Bisping.

Bisping further stated that Makhachev is likely to accept the fight without any fuss. Although he wants to be a double champion too, Makhachev will have to wait till Belal Muhammad is the welterweight champion. Meanwhile, as the possibilities of Topuria getting a contender fight doing the rounds, his team had one clear statement to make.

Team Ilia Topuria Wants A Title Fight Straight Away

UFC 314: Ilia Topuria vacates UFC featherweight title, Volkanovski vs. Lopes title bout headlines slew of announcements - Yahoo Sports

Many people have opined that Ilia Topuria is not yet qualified enough to get a direct title shot. Instead, it would make more sense if he is facing a top lightweight prospect initially. But as far his team is concerned, Topuria will not buy the narrative.

In a recent statement issued, team Ilia Topuria stated, “Ilia wants a championship fight. He will not fight for the status of a contender with Tsarukyan or anyone else.”

Thus, it is evident that things at the lightweight division are heating up. Now, it remains to be seen how things shape up from here on.