The future presents many paths to Ilia Topuria (16-0) And they all shine and present options of great glory for the ‘Matador’. Not the immediate one, of course. Ilia talked about resting, about not wanting to hear about fights for a while, about focusing on his brother Aleksandre’s debut in the UFC… and about wanting, yes, to fight before the summer of 2025. He doesn’t want another summer at camp, he would like to spend it on vacation with his family.
But, in a world in which the present always seems past, within moments of knocking out Holloway, a question was already on the table: and now… Who is Ilia Topuria going for now?
The answer was found relatively quickly: Alexander Volkanovski (26-4). The featherweight GOAT. ‘The Great’. The Australian from whom ‘Matador’ took the belt in Anaheim last February. “We will do it again, you deserve it. He has made seven defenses or more. If anyone deserves it, it’s him. “Let’s do it, brother,” Topuria said. from the cage, receiving a ‘Volk’ who was present and whom he hugged.
We will do it again, you deserve it. He has made seven defenses or more. If anyone deserves it, it’s him
A few days ago, when the UFC confirmed the February date for UFC Sydney, Volkanovski said he would like to fight Topuria on that stage. But the Hispanic-Georgian rejected the idea: “That will never happen. I am the champion, and if you want to fight for the title again, it has to be in Madrid, not in Australia in front of your people. Why would I give you that advantage?”
At that time the idea of Barcelona had not yet appeared publicly, it would do so days later via Dana White at a press conference, but ‘The Great’ accepted Topuria’s words last night. He recognized who was the champion and who was the contender. He gave the OK to travel to Spain to try to ‘return’.
Ilia Topuria hits Holloway at UFC 308.
And the double title against Makhachev?
But there is another option, with all due respect to a legend like Volkanovski, juicier: andFace the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and be a double champion. Islam Makhachev (26-1) and his lightweight title, a category above Topuria’s pen. He could easily give that weight, his team admits to MARCA.
Makhachev, in his day, in an interview with MARCA Before his fight with Poirier at UFC 302, he rated the ‘Matador’ positively and opened the door to a fight in the future: “Man…I don’t know why little guys want to fight me. I’d give him a chance. I gave Volkanovski a chance twice. Maybe for the future…someday. Why not?” Then, recently, came the ‘beef’ with the ‘Nurmagomedov clan’. The fight would be gigantic.
I would give him the opportunity. I gave Volkanovski the chance twice. Maybe for the future… someday
“I always seek to achieve what no one else can. Nobody can subdue him. I will be the first to achieve it,” Topuria declared at a press conference last night, before dozens of Russian journalists. He even confronted one of them when he reminded him of Usman Nurmagomedov’s words on Twitter about fighting in the streets.
I always seek to achieve what no one else can. Nobody can subdue him. I will be the first to achieve it
Makhachev, meanwhile, was more elegant than his compatriot: “Congratulations champion, it was incredible. Keep your head up Max, you are a legend,” he wrote on Twitter.
Whatever your future is, the ‘Matador’ continues to shine… and fulfilling its main objective: to make its legacy greater.
