On the night of February 19, Dana White went live on Instagram to drop the biggest bombshell in MMA in recent times. Ilia Topuria is officially moving on from featherweight to lightweight.
According to White, Topuria felt like he had done everything he needed to in the 145 lbs category and, more importantly, his body just couldn’t handle the weight cut anymore. “Topuria felt like he had cemented his legacy, and his body could not make the weight anymore,” White explained.
Dana White says Ilia Topuria is vacating his UFC title because “he’s done all he can in that division” and can no longer make the featherweight limit. pic.twitter.com/TWjD3PGHGN
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 20, 2025
Not everyone agrees with Topuria’s decision, but Calvin Kattar is backing the move. The fellow featherweight believes Topuria has proven enough at 145 pounds and sees no reason to hold him back from chasing bigger challenges at 155. Kattar said on the latest episode of Inside Fighting –
“Not crazy surprised, I kind of see what he is talking about. He took out Max Holloway and Volk, two arguably greatest featherweights of all time. People have jumped up weight classes doing less.”
When asked how he sees Topuria fairing against Islam and if he can get the job done, Kattar responded – “It’s tough to doubt him”.
The 36-year-old further added that Topuria “is worthy of an opportunity for sure, he has shown that”.
With that being said, other featherweights who were hoping to get a shot at Topuria, were left disappointed with the champion’s decision to move up in weight.
Diego Lopes shares his thoughts on Topuria’s move up in weight
Diego Lopes was looking to fight Topuria, but with the featherweight champ officially moving up to lightweight, that won’t be happening. Instead, Lopes will take on Alexander Volkanovski for the vacant 145-pound title at UFC 314 on April 12.
Speaking with ESPN, Lopes explained that the UFC has made it clear—if a champion wants to move up in weight, they have to vacate their belt first.
“They told us they are no longer letting champions hold two belts at the same time,” Lopes said. “If you move up, you have to give up your title.”
Lopes respects Topuria’s decision, but he still thinks there’s unfinished business at featherweight for him.
“There are still guys in this division who could challenge him, maybe even beat him,” Lopes added. “But if he believes he’s done enough, that’s his choice.”
Topuria had an incredible 2024, earning MMA Fighting’s Fighter of the Year award with two brutal knockouts over Volkanovski at UFC 298 and Max Holloway at UFC 308—becoming the first fighter ever to finish Holloway with strikes.
Now, he’s hoping for an immediate lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev, though nothing is official yet. If that happens, it could arguably become the fight of 2025.
