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Ilia Topuria reacted to Dana White's recent announcement regarding the upcoming vacant lightweight title fight at UFC 317. In a live social media session, White revealed that Makhachev will vacate the lightweight title. He will move up to welterweight to challenge the newly crowned champion, Jack Della Maddalena. This decision led to the UFC booking a vacant lightweight title fight between Topuria and Charles Oliveira.
Topuria took a shot at Makhachev for opting to move up without fighting him, and offered an apology to Oliveira in advance, expressing confidence in his ability to defeat the Brazilian on June 28. Topuria's post on X read:
"On June 28, another dream will come true. I’ll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I’m just fighting for my dreams. It’s unfortunate that Makhachev ran away. 17-0."
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Topuria captured the featherweight title with a second-round knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. Following his first defence, where he defeated Max Holloway with a third-round knockout at UFC 308 in October 2024, Topuria vacated the title to pursue a second belt at lightweight.
Meanwhile, Oliveira, a former 155-pound champion, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Michael Chandler in the UFC 309 rematch. He has been engaged in an online feud with Topuria, which may intensify in the build-up to their UFC 317 fight.
Islam Makhachev's manager explains why the Dagestani fighter moved up in weight without fighting Ilia Topuria
The potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria clash was considered one of the most exciting fights in the UFC. However, Makhachev's team reportedly declined to fight Topuria, stating that the Dagestani fighter had already given Alexander Volkanovski, another featherweight champion, two opportunities in the past.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Makhachev's manager Ali Abdelaziz explained the team's decision to vacate the title without fighting Ilia Topuria at lightweight, stating:
"If we have to fight Ilia, we will fight Ilia, no problem. But, Islam could go out there and finish Ilia. He was almost a 4-to-1 favorite. Ilia is a very skilled fighter, I'm not taking anything away from him. I respect him as a fighter. But we know, Islam could go there and starch him, beat him, right? Then people are going to say, 'He beat a 145-pounder.' He beat Alexander Volkanovski, twice, but, 'he beat a 145-pounder.' He has nothing to gain by beating Ilia."
Check out Ali Abdelaziz's comments below:
UFC 317 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on June 28. The event concludes the International Fight Week 2025. It also features another title clash between reigning flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France.
