Ilia Topuria made it clear—he’s done with featherweight and has his sights set on lightweight gold. After vacating his 145-pound title, it was assumed he’d get a fast track to a shot at Islam Makhachev. But with the champ insisting that Topuria earn his stripes in the new division first, plans have shifted. But all hope is not lost yet.
If the title fight isn’t happening right away, Topuria’s team isn’t sitting around waiting. In fact, his head coach has already thrown out a strong suggestion for who they’d like to face next—and it might just be the perfect way to introduce “El Matador” to the chaos of the UFC’s 155-pound division.
Topuria had earlier claimed being promised a title shot by the UFC in order to get a title shot against Makhachev. However, since then, two other contenders (Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje) at lightweight have also claimed their stake at UFC gold, pushing Topuria to the sidelines even further.
Since Gaethje is also being favored as a potential opponent by Islam’s team, this leaves Topuria with two probable opponents- Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan. But Tsarukyan has been out of favor since pulling out of UFC 311 on hours’ notice and has been beefing with the 12th-ranked Paddy Pimblett, leaving but one choice.
After UFC Vegas 105, just before Lerone Murphy’s win over Josh Emmett, the Spanish UFC broadcast dropped a bombshell: “Ilia Topuria moves up in weight class and faces Charles Oliveira.”
Despite the chorus of cheers from the MMA community, journalist Alex Behunin quickly clarified that the UFC called it a mistake. “I was told by the promotion this is not true,” he tweeted, putting out the fire before it spread any further. So for now, Topuria’s lightweight debut opponent is still up in the air.
I was told by the promotion this is NOT true and was a mistake pic.twitter.com/W3Z06syw0t
— Alex Behunin (@AlexBehunin) April 6, 2025
But now, with Islam looking toward UFC 315’s headliner between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Madallena to decide whether he wants to move up to challenge for the welterweight title, Topuria must make a choice.
In that spirit, speaking to Submission Radio, Topuria’s coach Jorge Climent made an excellent suggestion for UFC boss Dana White.
“The real thing is we want to fight for the belt, but Oliveira’s fight is a good fight too”, he said.
Unfortunately for Topuria, just as with Islam, Oliveira is not really interested in taking him on either, especially following the tirade the Spaniard went on on social media platforms.
Disrespectful Topuria slammed by Oliveira
Since Oliveira also wanted the Islam title fight, Topuria figured it would be a great idea to let the former champion see perspective.
“Charles, it’s better if you stay quiet. You have 10 losses: 5 by knockout, 4 by submission, and 1 by decision. You are the contender, while I am the champion, the father of the entire division… I am the one in charge“, he tweeted.
Oliveira, though, wasn’t having it. Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, he reminded everyone of his 15-year run in the UFC and the respect he’s earned along the way.
“He’s just trying to stir up a fight,” Oliveira said. “I respect what he’s done, but he’s being disrespectful now”, ‘Do Bronx’ added.
Still, Oliveira isn’t losing sleep over the UFC’s matchmaking decisions. “If Topuria gets the next shot, so be it. I’m an employee—I’ll keep fighting, keep preparing, and my time will come.”
Meanwhile, Topuria has asserted that there was nothing disrespectful in his tweet since he was just stating facts.
