Ilya Topuria recently caused some surprise among MMA fans and pundits after he expressed interest in moving up to lightweight. The Spaniard defended his featherweight title against Max Holloway at UFC 308, handing the Hawaiian his first knockout defeat.
“The Matador” was then expected to face Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch from UFC 298, where Topuria won the title after knocking out “The Great” in the second round.
Topuria and Volkanovski even took part in a showdown in the octagon at UFC 308. But in the weeks since the event, the 27-year-old appears to have changed his mind.
He recently conducted an interview with his coach, Jorge Clemente Presentation Radio After comments made by his fighter. Clement confirmed the featherweight champion's path forward, saying:
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“The truth is, he hates that weight (cut). He's done it so many times. It gets harder every time we do it. He's touched (the underworld), and he doesn't want to do it anymore. That's why he wants it.” To move up to the next weight class.” (0:35-1:02)
He also discussed the rumors of a rematch with Volkanovski:
“I don't think he's going to defend the featherweight title. I think he wants to go to lightweight… He wants to fight ranked guys for the belt… If he fights Alex at featherweight, I don't think (we'll fight him again).” ( 3:55-4:27)
Watch Jorge Clemente's comments on Elia Topuria below:
Ilya Topuria shares potential retirement timeline
Ilya Topuria appears to be gunning for a second world title shot in the UFC after his recent comments about his interest in moving up to lightweight To face Charles Oliveira.
The Spaniard is one of the highest-rated talents in mixed martial arts at the moment, and at just 27 years old, there is an expectation that he may end his career holding multiple promotional records.
But the featherweight champion recently shared a possible timeline for his MMA retirement, which may surprise fans.
During an interview with a Spanish news anchor COPE Partidazio, He discussed his eventual retirement from the sport. Topuria's comments were republished to X by @ChampRDS, who wrote the translated comments as follows:
“II am 27 years old. Hopefully I'll be out by 30… Right now, in the division I'm in, I don't have the motivation to defend my belt anymore. Now I want to go to a higher level and we'll see how it goes.”
Check out Ilya Topuria's comments below:
Edited by Harvey Leonard
