Ilia Topuria Planning Full Time Move to Lightweight.
After saying he was planning a move up to Lightweight earlier in the week, Ilia Topuria's head coach Jorge Climent has now also stated that the plan is to move up and vacate the Featherweight title rather than defend it in what was expected to be a rematch with the former champion Alexander Volkanovski.
Topuria has targeted Charles Oliveira for his return in April or May although his coach also threw the name Dustin Poirier out as a potential opponent. Poirier has shown some interest having shared a post about the matchup on his X account.
Coach Jorge Climent stated to Submission Radio that the reason for the move was due to an increasingly difficult weight cut, with Topuria weighing around 190 lbs outside of camp.
Topuria will end his time as Featherweight champion with one title defense coming against Max Holloway at UFC 308 where Topuria won via knockout. He won the title at UFC 298 earlier this year with a knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski.
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