Ilia Topuria’s conquest of the featherweight division ended when he moved up in weight and gave up his title. The Spaniard sees no point in cutting weight anymore and wanted some new challenges for himself. His first call out after moving up in weight? None other than the champ himself, Islam Makhachev. After all, he dismantled Alexander Volkanovski, who once gave Makhachev all he could handle. But not everyone is on board with that idea.
Chael Sonnen, the ever-opinionated UFC veteran, has made it clear: Topuria vs. Makhachev is not the biggest fight of 2025. In fact, Sonnen doesn’t even think it should happen next. Instead, he argues that Topuria needs to prove himself at 155 pounds before getting a crack at the title. And who better to test him than Charles Oliveira?
It’s not just Sonnen who believes this—Makhachev’s camp had also pushed back against the idea of giving Topuria an instant shot. While Topuria’s confidence is sky-high, the Dagestani champion’s team sees him as an unproven force in the division. And really, they’re not wrong. The last featherweight champ who moved up to fight Makhachev was Volkanovski, and even with his elite skill set, he couldn’t get the job done in two tries.
Sonnen laid it out bluntly in an Instagram video: “Ilia vs. Islam is a completely different fight if Ilia beats Charles first… There’s some nut huggers out there who think it’s the biggest fight, it’s not. The biggest fight of 2025 is going to be Jones vs. Aspinall.”
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That last part is the real bombshell. Sonnen believes that the most anticipated showdown of 2025 isn’t Topuria trying to dethrone Makhachev—it’s Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall.
He may have a point. Aspinall has been a wrecking machine at heavyweight, and with Jones returning from injury, a title unification bout would be massive. If that fight gets booked, it has the potential to overshadow any other matchup, including a possible Topuria vs. Makhachev clash.
For now, the debate rages on. Should Topuria jump the line, or does he need to prove himself against Oliveira first? Either way, 2025 is shaping up to be a wild year for the UFC.
That’s not the only development in the lightweight division at the moment. Another hot topic for fans is regarding Dustin Poirier’s last fight in the UFC. ‘The Diamond’ is planning a farewell fight and Sonnen has the perfect opponent for him.
Sonnen suggests Gaethje vs. Poirier
Uncle Chael is playing the role of matchmaker for the UFC. After the Ilia vs. Oliveira suggestion, he now wants another blockbuster in the division. With ‘The Diamond’ setting up his final fight in the UFC, Sonnen does not see a better opponent than Justin Gaethje. The pair have fought twice in the octagon and are 1-1 against each other.
According to Sonnen, a third fight would be just what the doctor ordered. However, ‘The Highlight’ isn’t the only name being discussed. Max Holloway is also a front-runner for that fight. But Sonnen has made his thoughts clear, “Second time Justin has offered this, and all we need for this to be official is a response from Poirier.”
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Sonnen also spoke about how Gaethje’s call out was honorable, knowing ‘The Diamond’ is already in talks with Max Holloway. Gaethje could have instigated the former BMF champion by making it seem as though he was ducking the fight.
But instead, he just gave him a simple fight offer. Sonnen desperately wants to see this fight happen and claims that if Poirier even commented under his Instagram post, he would ensure the fight would happen.
