UFC champion worried Ilia Topuria’s lightweight move could be squandered

A current UFC titleholder doesn’t want to see Ilia Topuria’s move to lightweight become a waste.

Topuria recently vacated the UFC Featherweight Championship to move up to the 155-pound division. “La Leyenda” is seeking a shot at Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title. While the potential fight would be lucrative, Makhachev’s team argues that Topuria should have a No. 1 contender fight first.

UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili feels that if Topuria’s next fight isn’t for the 155-pound gold, then it could be a big mistake.

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Merab Thinks Makhachev vs. Topuria Should Be Next

Dvalishvili recent appeared on the “Fight Back” podcast hosted by Jake Shields. During his appearance, the 135-pound ruler said that Makhachev vs. Topuria is clearly the biggest fight to make at lightweight (via MMAJunkie).

“He’s saying he’s not a lightweight, he’s featherweight and he’s champion,” Dvalishvili said. “I know Islam is saying, ‘Oh, I don’t want to fight small guys,’ but Ilia is f*cking the biggest name.”

Dvalishvili doesn’t like the idea of Topuria fighting someone like Charles Oliveira before competing for the 155-pound title.

“He already beat Arman,” Dvalishvili said of Makhachev. “He beat Oliveira, he beat (Poirier). It’s not going to be an easy fight for Ilia, but that’s the fight to – Ilia’s my friend, I love him, but it’s going to be stupid if he fights Oliveira, if he loses against Oliveira. This is the super fight.”

Topuria’s most recent fight took place in the main event of UFC 308 back in Oct. 2024. He knocked out Max Holloway to successfully retain the UFC Featherweight Championship. It was Topuria’s first and only 145-pound title defense.

What UFC officials ultimately decide to do with Topuria and Makhachev next will be a story to keep tabs on in the coming days and weeks.