Ilia Topuria hints he may be done at featherweight, eyes Charles Oliveira

Ilia Topuria only has one title defence to his name since becoming UFC featherweight champion earlier this year, yet the undisputed king of the 145-pound division suggested this week he may have already competed in the weight class for the final time.

The 27-year-old Georgian-Spanish star knocked out Alexander Volkanovski in February to win UFC gold then knocked out former champ Max Holloway in October in his first title defence.

Topuria is 16-0 in mixed martial arts with half his pro victories occurring under the UFC banner. He’s entering 2025 as a dominant champion and the No. 4 pound-for-pound fighter on the UFC roster behind fellow reigning champions Islam Makhachev, Jon Jones and Alex Pereira.

Topuria’s next opponent has not yet been determined although a rematch with Volkanovski was one option. Volkanovski had been perfect as a featherweight and had defended his UFC title five times prior to his loss to Topuria, however, it doesn’t appear the sequel is a guarantee based on Topuria’s latest comments.

When asked during an appearance on Spain’s El Partidazo de COPE if his recent win over Holloway could be his final fight in the featherweight division, Topuria said “for sure” and indicated he intends to move up to 155 pounds to compete in the lightweight division.

Topuria told a different Spanish outlet earlier in the month the matchup that intrigues him most is one with Makhachev, the current lightweight champion.

Makhachev responded to those comments at a press conference this past Friday promoting his upcoming UFC 311 main event title defence against Arman Tsarukyan by saying: “(Topuria’s) good, skilled fighter but I don’t want to give him a chance.”

Topuria explained in his latest interview that since Makhachev is lined up to fight Tsarukyan soon and likely won’t be ready again until the middle of next year, then in the meantime, he’d like to face Charles Oliveira instead since Oliveira is, in theory, next in line to face the winner of Makhachev-Tsarukyan.

Oliveira is a former lightweight champion coming off a UFC 309 victory over Michael Chandler and has a history with both Makhachev and Tsarukyan.

Makhachev became champion in 2022 when he submitted Oliveira at UFC 280, and Tsarukyan earned his upcoming title shot by winning a three-round split decision over Oliveira at UFC 300 in April.

“Ilia’s a tough fighter,” Oliveira said of Topuria via translator during UFC 309 fight week in November when asked about the featherweight champion possibly moving up. “He talks the talk and walks the walk (but) I think you have to be very careful when you’re coming up to lightweight because this is a very tough division.”

“El Matador” injecting himself into the lightweight title conversation muddies the waters of not one but two divisions since Topuria isn’t facing a dearth of suitable upcoming featherweight contenders. 

If a rematch with Volkanovski is unappealing, two fresh opponents for Topuria to potentially face next at 145 pounds are Diego Lopes or Movsar Evloev, both of whom are riding notable winning streaks that each would warrant a title shot if granted.

Makhachev has described Oliveira as one of the most exciting fighters in the organization and has stated he would be open to a rematch with the popular Brazilian if that’s what fans wanted to see. Makhachev has also indicated if he keeps dominating at lightweight that he wants to eventually move up to challenge for the welterweight title.

Champions attempting to win a second belt has been in vogue in the UFC over the past decade, so what Topuria is considering isn’t anything unique or untoward.

In fact, three of the past four undisputed featherweight champions that preceded Topuria – Volkanovski, Holloway and Conor McGregor – all moved up to 155 pounds to challenge for a lightweight title when they were the active 145-pound champion. Jose Aldo is the only one who didn’t.

McGregor never defended the featherweight title he won from Aldo in 2015 and in 2016 became a two-weight champion when he beat Eddie Alvarez. McGregor was later stripped of his featherweight belt due to inactivity for neglecting to defend it.

Holloway attempted to win an interim lightweight belt in 2019 when he faced Dustin Poirier at UFC 253. The Hawaiian lost a unanimous decision and returned to 145 pounds afterwards.

Volkanovski was the most recent to go for double champ status but fell short on two occasions in 2023, losing a terrific and competitive five-round bout to Makhachev at UFC 284 before getting knocked out in their UFC 294 rematch that Volkanovski took on short notice.