It was nearly midnight on Wednesday when the MMA world received groundbreaking news.
Many who had work in the morning were sound asleep and wouldn’t hear about the changes until hours later. But others who expected an announcement that evening sleuthed around UFC CEO Dana White’s Instagram until a live stream suddenly popped up.
Then a bombshell was dropped on them. After his breakout year—taking down future UFC Hall of Fame names to capture the UFC Featherweight Championship and cement himself as one of the top fighters in the entire promotion—Ilia Topuria was dropping his belt.
“[Ilia] Topuria has felt like he’s done all that he can in that division, and feels like he cemented his legacy,” explained White on Instagram. “His body cannot make the weight anymore. So Topuria will be moving up to 155 pounds and will be vacating his title … We will announce what Topuria’s next fight will be when we get it done.”
The news of Topuria moving up to lightweight felt bittersweet.
There are fair reasons to be enthusiastic about the move. It’s rare that you see two fighters within the pound-for-pound top five face-off, but Topuria moving up to 155 pounds means it’s likely he could soon take on world #1 Islam Makhachev (I mean, any other matchup for Topuria’s arrival in the class would likely be met with criticism). It is, undoubtedly, one of the biggest fights you can make in the sport currently.
And, to an extent, you have to be happy for Topuria. If it’s true that his body grew out of reaching the strict 145-pound cut, then what other options did he have? After reporting on the dangers of weight classes—including a botched cut last year which left PFL’s Daiane Silva in a coma for months—I’m not going to question anyone who decides they need to cut their body some slack.
But, I can’t knock the feeling that his move ends a chapter in his career that had so much more to be written.
In 2024, the undefeated Georgian-Spaniard took down the second and third-most accomplished champions in UFC featherweight history, stopping Alexander Volkanovski to earn the featherweight title and then beating Max Holloway eight months later.
To get past a pair of future Hall of Famers within a few months made it seem like Topuria could be the next great at 145 pounds. It felt like a new era had finally arrived in the division, following up on the dominance of Vokanovski which dictated the mid-2020s. It finally seemed possible that someone new could chase records in a division where excellence could be boiled down to just three names since the class opened in 2010 (Volkanovski, Holloway, and of course Jose Aldo).
And even after back-to-back monumental wins, it felt like there was so much more to look forward to.
There’s something White said Topuria felt that, respectfully, I must disagree with. “Topuria has felt like he’s done all that he can in that division,” the UFC CEO, speaking for Topuria, said.
Anyone who has been watching that division develop knows that is simply not true. There has been an impressive list of contenders building in recent years, with at least two that are currently ready for a championship-level opportunity.
Diego Lopes, who rightfully is getting a shot at the vacant belt later this year, was the clear-cut next man in line. After an impressive five-fight winning streak, three via first-round finish and recent wins over Brian Ortega and Dan Ige, the Brazilian contender proved to be both an exciting and challenging figure to bring into the title mix.
There’s also Movsar Evloev, an undefeated 19-fight Russian who would have brought forward an intriguing stylistic challenge for Topuria, likely employing the same grappling-heavy style which has made him beat many greats like Aljamain Sterling and Arnold Allen.
And if Topuria could get past those two, by that time we would’ve likely been into 2026 at least, and some other contenders would emerge. Lower down the list, names like undefeated Lerone Murphy, former champ Sterling or even fast-rising star Youssef Zalal could build themselves up over the next year.
There are fair reasons for Topuria to move up. Chasing the biggest fight of his career and not being able to make weight at 145 pounds are two incredibly solid reasons. Feeling like there wasn’t enough to do in the highly competitive featherweight division is not.
Topuria is moving from one incredible weight class to another. And if things work out well, he should face lightweight champ Makhachev next. His move to 155 isn’t something I will disagree with, as (most) of his cited reasons make sense. But it’s hard to not think about what would happen if he stayed.
Maybe featherweight’s greats would go from a three-person podium to a Mount Rushmore. Maybe he would get close to the impressive records set by Aldo, or possibly even break them.
Don’t mind me, I’m just daydreaming a little.
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