Ilia Topuria decides to switch back to old nickname ahead of UFC return

About that new nickname UFC star Ilia Topuria chose for himself last month…

Spain’s Topuria, the former UFC featherweight champ, is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA right now. Ahead of his anticipated debut in the lightweight division, he announced plans to switch his nickname from “El Matador” to “La Leyenda.”

Apparently, his fans didn’t love the idea.

Speaking on Spanish talk show El Hormiguero, Topuria revealed that he has decided to revert back to his original “El Matador” nickname.

🚨 Ilia Topuria reveals he will go back to his original nickname of ‘El Matador’ as ‘La Leyanda’ was not received well by the public.

(via El Hormiguero) pic.twitter.com/INA0Sp3pQs

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 8, 2025

Topuria captured the UFC featherweight title early last year, ending the great Alexander Volkanovski’s legendary featherweight winning streak with a second-round KO. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he then defended the belt by knocking out another legend in Max Holloway. Nobody had stopped Holloway with strikes before — not Dustin Poirier, not Justin Gaethje, not Conor McGregor.

When will Ilia Topuria fight next?

Topuria was on top of the world after his wins over Volkanovski and Holloway. However, he then shocked fans by vacating his title with plans to move up to the lightweight division.

We’ve been waiting for quite some time now to learn who Topuria will meet in his next fight. If he gets his way, it will be a scrap with lightweight champ and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev. However, former champion Charles Oliveira is also an option.

Whomever he fights, Topuria recently revealed that he will make his return at UFC 317. The card is set for June 28 in Las Vegas.

Speaking at the UFC 315 pre-fight press conference in Montreal on Thursday, company CEO Dana White confirmed that plan.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of moving parts right now and yeah, that’s pretty accurate,” White said, responding specifically to a question about Topuria fighting Makhachev or Oliveira at UFC 317.