‘He’s Fighting Conor at the Pub’: Fans Drop Insane Matchups as Ilia Topuria Keeps Opponent a Mystery for UFC 317 Return

The wait is over, Ilia Topuria has announced his return date- to a little bit of ridicule, however.

Unclear if he is still adamant on fighting for the title, the former featherweight champion, however, announced a return to action during the International Fight Week at UFC 317 for his lightweight debut.

So, are fans still playing Will they/Won’t they with Topuria and Islam Makhachev? Or is the Spaniard taking former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira to the prom? Perhaps, he is fighting someone else entirely.

Your guess is as good as ours, since neither Makhachev nor Oliveira, for that matter, has provided updates on their previous terms and conditions. Despite Topuria claiming to have been promised a title shot on his 155 lbs debut, this cloud of uncertainty has forced fans to step in with some fantasy matchmaking of their own.

“He’s knocking out Charlie Olives,” said one fan wanting to see the Spaniard punish the Brazilian for stepping on his toes. Another echoed the sentiment saying, “Not even kidding I had a dream last night he KO’d Charles.”

One popular scenario that is gaining a lot of traction claims, “I am buying the theory that they are waiting on the result of Belal-JDM. If Belal wins, Islam will fight Ilia at 317. If he loses, Islam will vacate and Ilia will fight Charles or Arman for the vacant belt.”

Others, of a more humorous nature, had some suggestions as well: “He’s fighting Conor at the pub”, they said. Wild as it is, you would pay to watch that fight!

One of the reasons the suspense over Topuria’s next opponent holds so much sway amongst the public is that it also affects the entire lightweight division in the long run.

While all involved parties have remained mum on the subject, this mystery opponent is expected to be revealed after UFC 315- a fight that is rumored to determine the future of lightweight champion Makhachev.

Islam’s legacy welterweight future hangs in balance

Makhachev has achieved everything he wanted and more in the lightweight division. He’s defended the lightweight title a record four times, surpassing his mentor Khabib’s legacy at 155 lbs. And in doing so, has wiped out most of the top contenders in the division.

However, more than once, the lightweight champion has gone on to talk about his ambition to retire as a two-division champion. 34 in October this year, he will need to make the call about whether he still wants that particular legacy.

But there’s a small snag: the lightweight champion won’t move up in weight as long as Belal is champion at welterweight. In fact, when ‘Bully B‘ beat Leon Edwards at UFC 305, he had this to say, “This guy broke my plans to be double champ.”

Even ‘Bully B’ shut down the possibilities of that in a podcast episode for Barstool Chicago, “I would never fight Islam, we train together…it’s just a different relationship…..I would rather go up to 185 and let him have 170 if that’s the case.” 

Now, this makes it interesting because if Islam pushes through to welterweight despite Belal reigning supreme at UFC 315, the Palestinian-American fighter will look to challenge the big boys at 185 lbs.

So, UFC 315 becomes a pivotal fight for both Belal and Islam. If Jack Della Maddalena can dethrone the champ on May 10 in Montreal, it will open up a simpler path for Makhachev. If not, Islam will have to weigh in on his friendship with Belal over career ambitions, while the welterweight champion figures out if hard hitters like Dricus du Plessis and Khamzat Chimaev are worth the risk.