It’s been a few weeks since Ilia Topuria announced that he is moving up to lightweight and teased fans saying they won’t be ready to hear the announcement he is going to make regarding his next fight. UFC fans have since been waiting with bated breath for any news on who Topuria will fight next, with names such as Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira doing the rounds. But now, after weeks of speculation, Dana White’s comments only fuel the fire.
“We’re working on the plan for him. We should have some announcements about him. Give us a couple more weeks and we’ll have some concrete plans for him.”, White said in an interview.
And well, nobody seems to be happy with the whole “couple more weeks” timeline. Many took to social media to voice their frustration and disappointment over the lack of clarity.
One user vented, “a couple more weeks’ this just proves to me that Ilia just doesn’t wanna take the fight with Arman. It shouldn’t take weeks.” Another fan wasn’t buying the excuse, bluntly saying, “He has no f*cking clue what to do with Ilia.”
Some fans are outright accusing White of using the same old vague timeline every time someone asked him about something he had no idea about. “mf says this abt every fighter.”, one fan responded.
He has no fucking clue what to do with ilia
— dorドア (@realdorrr) March 21, 2025
The impatience is understandable since this has been going on since late last year. “bro been since October working for Ilia.”, an avid UFC follower reminded everyone.
Then there are the reports about Islam not wanting to fight Ilia, asking him to fight for the #1 contender position; something the Spaniard isn’t keen on. “Sounds to me like the Islam fight isn’t happening so they have to find a new opponent.”, one Twitter user contended.
Well, as frustrated as they maybe, there seems to be another aspect to the matchmaking that fans don’t see. UFC veteran Jorge Masvidal has pointed this out as the biggest problem in picking an opponent for ‘El Matador.‘
Masvidal warns the division about Topuria
As a man who has trained alongside and sparred with Topuria, Masvidal has nothing but praise for the Spaniard. While in conversation with Tristan Dablik for Adversity Kings, ‘Gamebred’ spoke about how Topuria’s power is a major factor to consider when setting up his first lightweight fight.
According to the former BMF champion, ‘El Matador’ swings harder than any other 155lber, and he’s seen it firsthand, “His power, he hits harder than Islam, he hits harder than every 55er there is. Because a lot of it is genetic but his technique is legit.”
Jorge Masvidal backs Ilia Topuria to destroy Justin Gaethje:
“Topuria will flatline Gaethje. He’ll put Gaethje in a coma. He’ll end Gaethje.”Adversity Kings w/ Tristan Dlabik @Topuriailia @GamebredFighter pic.twitter.com/imSY8Jmbct
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) March 21, 2025
‘Gamebred’ then went on to talk about what would happen if the Spaniard took on someone like Justin Gaethje in his first fight, “A guy like Gaethje who just won, I think he would flatline Gaethje. He’ll put Gaethje in a coma, they don’t wanna see him do that bro…he’ll end Gaethje.”
That’s some high praise coming from a guy like Masvidal who usually doesn’t have too many nice things to say about his fellow UFC fighters. But what he has revealed is yet another factor in the matchmaking for ‘El Matador’.
With a dearth of superstars in its ranks, could the UFC brass be scared of matching him up against the likes of Makhachev and Oliveira?
