“This is something that I want to do. The UFC knows that. But at the end of the day, this is something that the UFC decides because they know how to run the business. They know how to do it, they have a lot of experience, so if they tell me that they want me to keep defending the belt in the 145 division, maybe I will do that. But if they let me go up to 155, I will do that also.” 145lbs kingpin Ilia Topuria clarified while speaking to FOX Sports Australia this past weekend.

‘El Matador’ remains committed to defending his featherweight title despite ongoing struggles with the 145-pound weight cut. While his team has acknowledged the challenges of making weight, his immediate focus remains on reigning over the featherweight ranks. However, the Spanish-Georgian juggernaut has repeatedly expressed interest in a super fight against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. And he reiterated this desire in the same interview amidst UFC 312 fight week.

“Me, personally, what I want to do is move up to 155 because I know that I can become a two-weight world champion,” Topuria said. “Islam, he’s a great fighter, he’s the No. 1 pound-for-pound for the people. For me, it’s me, myself, I’m the best fighter in the world, so I know that I can do with him whatever I want to do because I know that I am much better than him.”

However, UFC commentator Michael Bisping thinks Topuria moving up only makes sense if he actually plans on staying there. “If he moves up and stays up then fair play, we’re all entitled to change divisions. And I’m hearing that that might be what he’s doing. So if he does that, fair play. But if he’s just going to go up and try and become a two-weight division champ, I mean I kind of get it, you know,” Bisping told ‘Submission Radio’ in an interview.

“But I would like to see him rematch Volkanovski because ‘Volk’ deserves it. And then there are other people. I mean Diego Lopes, for crying out loud. If ‘Volk’ fights Diego Lopes as you say they’re going to. If that happens, the winner of that deserves a title fight,” the former middleweight champ added.

In fact, Alexander Volkanovski, whom ‘El Matador’ beat last year to become champ, was being seen as Topuria’s next opponent. However, with the uncertainty around Topuria’s featherweight future, ‘Volk’ floated a possible (interim) title clash with Diego Lopes, who is knocking down the doors of a title shot himself. However, Topuria has his sights set on the future. He shared a striking image on his Instagram with 205lbs god-king Alex Pereira. He captioned it, “I hope you enjoyed our 2024, but 2025 will be even better!!!”

Given his meteoric rise, it’s no surprise that he has started calling his shots—big ones. But then again, Topuria, as we have mentioned, has decided to stay at 145lbs for now, and will probably defend his featherweight title at least once more. And we may very well watch Topuria slugging it out with the Aussie in 2025! Moreover, it would be better for ‘El Matador’s legacy that he stick around for at least a couple more fights.

Why Ilia Topuria could become the undisputed featherweight GOAT with a few more wins?

With his relentless pursuit of greatness, ‘El Matador’ had already cemented his place among the featherweight elite. He dismantled divisional icons Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski, knocking out both in dominant fashion. In fact, ‘El Matador’ became the first person to ever knockout ‘Blessed’ in their UFC 308 clash last year. Because of this, the champ is already in the 145-pound GOAT conversation.

A rematch and another victory over ‘Volk’ would admittedly not move the needle on Topuria’s standing much. However, there are a couple of young up-and-comers who would move the needle for Topuria, first and foremost Diego Lopes. The Brazilian dynamo has set fire to the featherweight division and has notched up eight impressive wins (six of them through finishes) since joining the UFC in 2022.

Not to mention, #4 ranked undefeated Russian star Movsar Evloev, who, like Lopes, seems like the future of the division. If Topuria beats these guys, there will be no doubt who the greatest featherweight in the history of the sport is. Then he can move on to carving out a piece of the lightweight division and get into the overall GOAT conversation. What do you think about Michael Bisping’s take on Ilia Topuria possibly moving up to 155?