Ilia Topuria’s self-assurance matches his immense skill as he pursues his second UFC championship and has already set his sights on a third. Though it sounds ambitious, Topuria\u2019s belief in his potential makes it credible. Recently, he captured attention by expressing his intent to challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title, aiming not to become the UFC\u2019s first three-division champion, but to dethrone the pound-for-pound best in the sport. When asked why he thinks he can achieve something no one else has, especially against a formidable opponent like Makhachev, Topuria simply responds, "Why not?"<\/p>\n
After vacating the UFC featherweight title, which he secured by knocking out two of the division’s greatest champions\u2014Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski\u2014Topuria cited the difficulty of weight cuts as the reason to focus on lighter weight classes. However, he feels ready to bridge the 25-pound jump from featherweight to welterweight. Training with welterweight fighters, he says, has been exhilarating and he believes he can dominate in that division. He confidently asks, "If I challenge someone with the same weight, height, and reach as me, why wouldn\u2019t I step into that fight, get paid, and win another world title?"<\/p>\n
Before Topuria can face Makhachev for the 170-pound belt, several conditions must be met: Topuria must first defeat Charles Oliveira, and Makhachev is yet to be officially scheduled to fight welterweight champion Jack Della Madarena. Matchmakers also have a say, as if Makhachev loses at welterweight, Topuria plans to welcome him back to lightweight. Although Topuria\u2019s goals may seem impractical, his unshakable confidence challenges the limits of what\u2019s possible in MMA. His conviction sometimes comes off as audacious, but it showcases a breakout star the UFC desperately needs.<\/p>\n
While Topuria hasn\u2019t dominated his division like Jon Jones or defended his belt as many times as Anderson Silva, his achievements\u2014defeating Volkanovski, Holloway, Oliveira, and aiming for Makhachev\u2014could rank among the greatest stretches in MMA history. Winning titles in three different weight classes would be unprecedented. Even if the welterweight title bout doesn\u2019t materialize, Topuria\u2019s record places him among the sport\u2019s elite. When asked if he\u2019d be happy to be considered one of the greatest, Topuria humbly credits other athletes who have done great things for MMA, saying, "There\u2019s room for everyone."<\/p>\n
Fan Take:<\/strong> Ilia Topuria\u2019s bold ambitions and willingness to challenge the sport\u2019s best across multiple weight classes signal a thrilling new chapter for UFC fans. His rise could redefine what it means to be a multi-division champion and bring fresh excitement to MMA\u2019s competitive landscape.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ilia Topuria’s self-assurance matches his immense skill as he pursues his second UFC championship and has already set his sights on a third. Though it sounds ambitious, Topuria\u2019s belief in his potential makes it credible. Recently, he captured attention by expressing his intent to challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title, aiming not to become […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2443],"tags":[2444],"class_list":{"0":"post-10671","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fighting","8":"tag-fighting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}