"You can go slap him" - Ilia Topuria eyes welterweight move, calls Belal Muhammad an "easy path"

Ilia Topuria recently took a dig at former UFC welterweight kingpin Belal Muhammad. Topuria appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show, where he was questioned about a potential move to the 170-pound division.

'El Matador' stated that before he retires, he could move up to welterweight. The Georgian-Spaniard also took a dig at 'Remember the Name', who was dethroned by Jack Della Maddalena earlier this year at UFC 315.

Helwani asked Topuria if the latter would consider moving up to welterweight before he retires. Topuria quipped:

"Yeah, for sure. That could happen."

'El Matador' then took a dig at Muhammad. he said:

"If you have a champion like Belal or many names I could bring right now, that's an easy path. Like, you can go slap him and get the title. That's it."

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below:

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Ilia Topuria has eyes set on UFC welterweight throne

Ilia Topuria has recently expressed his desire to move up to welterweight if he gets crowned as the new lightweight champion at UFC 317 and if Islam Makhachev dethrones Jack Della Maddalena later this year.

Topuria has called out Makhachev even before the former vacated his featherweight strap. However, Belal Muhammad's title loss earlier this year derailed Topuria's plans to fight the Russian phenom. However, he is still keen on fighting Makhachev, whether it be at lightweight or welterweight.

'El Matador' wants to be the first UFC three-division champion. During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, he said:

"We'll see how he [Islam Makhachev] does in the welterweight division. If he wins the title, I win the title in the lightweight division, maybe I move up or he comes down to the lightweight division and we have the fight that everyone wants to see."

Topuria added:

"If Islam becomes the welterweight world champion, for sure I'm going to push for that shot also, and I will move to the welterweight division."