Ilia Topuria reaffirms welterweight ambitions following historic UFC 317 campaign 

Ilia Topuria has set his sight on capturing a third title following his historic first-round knockout win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. With this win, Topuria was crowned the lightweight champion, becoming the 10th two-division champion in UFC history and the first undefeated fighter to achieve this milestone.

Despite having vacated the featherweight title before moving up to lightweight, Topuria showcased two UFC belts during the post-fight photo ops. He also showed up to the post-fight press conference with both belts, reiterating his ambition to add the welterweight title to his accomplishments:

"I think there is space for a third belt. I have a little space here [between two belts]. Only a little!"

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below:

Topuria has built a reputation for boldly predicting the outcomes of his fights and delivering the promised results. He has now defeated three current and former champions, all by knockout, in his recent fights.

His rise in the UFC is being compared to all-time greats like Jon Jones, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, who dismantled established veterans of the previous generation to create their own legacy in the sport.

The stunning KO win over Oliveira also addressed the concerns about size parity and whether his striking power could translate effectively into the higher weight class. However, no fighter in UFC history has won or fought for titles in three weight classes as of now.

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Ilia Topuria shares the source of his confidence: "It took me a little bit of time to demonstrate it"

Ilia Topuria has expressed extreme confidence in his abilities, which some observers have previously interpreted as overconfidence or "cockiness".

For instance, Topuria updated his Instagram bio, proclaiming himself to be the UFC featherweight champion ahead of his UFC 298 featherweight title fight against Alexander Volkanovski and also celebrated his win over Charles Oliveira hours before UFC 317.

Shedding light on the source of his confidence in a backstage interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA after UFC 317, Topuria expressed:

"I think what happens is that when I talk, they think I'm cocky, I'm overconfident and all that. But reality is that no one can match my level of skills inside the octagon. The way I perform, the way I move inside the octagon, they don't see me coming. I know what I'm able to do inside that octagon."

He added:

"During the training sessions, during the sparring sessions, I know how good I am... I used to say that I represent the new generation of mixed martial artists. It took me a little bit of time to demonstrate it."

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below (0:57):