Ilia Topuria teases massive fight announcement is on the way: “You won’t believe it.”

Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria hopes to have his next fight announced soon.

‘El Matador’ hasn’t been seen in the cage since a stunning knockout win over Max Holloway in October. Following that stoppage victory at UFC 308, Ilia Topuria teased a move up to the lightweight division. While Dana White publicly shot down the possibility of the featherweight moving up so quickly, he seemingly made a u-turn on that idea.

Last month, Ilia Topuria vacated his UFC featherweight title. As a result, former champion Alexander Volkanovski will meet Diego Lopes in April, to crown the division’s next king. However, much is still unknown about Topuria’s future. As of now, the hard-hitting Spaniard hasn’t booked his next bout.

However, that will likely change shortly. Taking to X earlier today, Ilia Topuria released a brief post. According to the former UFC featherweight champion, fans “won’t believe” his next fight. While Topuria didn’t say who his next opponent will be, he hinted that the announcement should be made soon.

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When we announce it, you won’t believe it. Get ready.

— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) March 6, 2025

Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria teases upcoming fight announcement

Obviously, a fight between Ilia Topuria and UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is what many fans expect. As of now, the Russian is currently unbooked, and fresh off a first-round submission win over Renato Moicano in January. Following that bout, Dana White stated that “something special” was being planned for the lightweight.

However, Islam Makhachev and his team have publicly lobbied against the Ilia Topuria bout. Taking to social media last month amid rumors of a fight against ‘El Matador’, the UFC champion’s manager downplayed a bout against the former featherweight. With that in mind, it’s difficult to see Topuria fighting Makhachev next.

[Ilia] Topuria vs. Dustin[Poirier]/Charles [Oliveira] contender fight, to prove he’s legit lightweight.” Makhachev’s manager Rizvan Magomedov wrote on X last month. “So we don’t have to defeat another ‘small featherweight’ We need big fight that make sense for everyone. We already gave chances to featherweight champ that was reigning for long time.”

What do you make of these comments from the former UFC featherweight champion? Who do you want to see Ilia Topuria fight next?