Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

‘I Respect When Guys Do That’ – Dana White Credits Ilia Topuria For This Gesture During His Move To Lightweight!

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

After dominating the UFC featherweight division, Ilia Topuria has now vacated the featherweight title. El Matador and his team have made it clear that the goal is to move up to the lightweight division and challenge the reigning defending lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.

🙄 Islam Makhachev says him and Ilia Topuria 100% will have some kind of talk when they meet.

"We will fight if he wants to."
🎥 Match TV pic.twitter.com/bRB4sORS6G
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) December 3, 2024

A lot of fans and analysts still feel like Topuria has not proved himself enough in the featherweight division. After all, he only defended his title once. However, let us remind you that it is not just about how many fighters he’s fought against, it’s also about who he’s fought.

He beat two of the toughest fighters that are out there in the featherweight division. He first knocked out Alexander Volkanovski with ease and then proceeded to knock out Max Holloway in UFC 308. These two are some of the greatest fighters we’ve ever seen and Topuria had no problems with them.

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Dana White Credits Topuria for not holding on to the featherweight Belt after his decision to move up

In a recent interview, Dana White credited Topuria for not holding on to the featherweight belt after his decision to move up to lightweight.

When a reporter asked Dana White a question about if Ilia himself vacated the featherweight belt or if he was asked to give up the title, White replied “No, he (Topuria) did that.” White continued “He said ‘I’ve done everything I can do here (in the featherweight division). I’m ready to move up,’ and he vacated it. He said ‘I shouldn’t be holding up anybody’s opportunities,’ and I respect when guys do that.”

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This is a class act from Topuria as many fighters who switch divisions after winning the belt, tend to hold on to the title. We’ve seen fighters such as Henry Cejudo, Amanda Nunes, Conor McGregor, GSP, Jon Jones, and others, hold on to the belt even after moving up. Vacating the title gives other fighters opportunities to compete fairly and Ilia has done just that.

Dana White Confirms that Islam vs Topuria is NOT a lock yet!

White was asked if the super fight between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria is something he’s been working towards, to which the UFC President immediately responded with “There’s still other possibilities so there’s a lot of sh** going on right now. Otherwise I would have said (yes).”

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🚨Ilia Topuria’s manager responds to Makhachev's manager Rizvan Magomedov, stating that Ilia needs one more win to fight for the lightweight belt against Islam.

"Ilia knocked out Volk in his first opportunity… When your client [Islam] fought Volk, he struggled with him the… pic.twitter.com/PtaKV2FBSe
— MMA Pros Pick (@MMA_PROS_PICK_) February 21, 2025

As much as everybody wants to see the fight between the two, we may still have to wait for a while before it happens. As a fighter is typically supposed to climb the ranks to fight the champ, we may see Topuria take on top lightweight contenders first.

Should Topuria have stayed and defended his title more than once in the featherweight division?

No, we do not think so and so does the UFC president, Dana White. He was asked if Topuria should have stayed in the featherweight division and defended his title more than once, to which White replied “I think that he (Topuria) felt he’d done everything. With the guys that he beat, if you look at who he beat and how he beat them… Right? And I don’t think he loved making that weight anymore.”

Multiple reports state that Topuria’s body just couldn’t handle the weight cut anymore, which is part of the reason why he vacated. Now that Ilia is a lightweight fighter, it’ll certainly be fun to watch him navigate through the division and take on new fighters until he gets what he wants, which is to beat up Makhachev.

“We all know at some point I WILL connect that punch, everything will depend on what God will decide… if he wants to send Islam to sleep or not”

Ilia Topuria with a CRAZY promo for a potential super fight with Islam Makhachev 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/Dg4eN5p5fF
— FULL SEND MMA (@full_send_mma) February 13, 2025

Also Read: UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song Results: Who Won The UFC Fights Last Night?

Dana White

Ilia Topuria

UFC

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