“I’d like to move up to the next weight class.” Like most champions, Ilia Topuria never stopped dreaming of becoming a double champion in the UFC. But for that, he needed to get to the lightweight division, while keeping his honor as a featherweight champion intact. While Islam Makhachev and many others advised him against the move, Arman Tsarukyan seemed to be completely supportive of the Spaniard’s decision. And the reason kind of went along with more green bills.

Talking to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohmann, the #1 lightweight contender said, “He should move to 155 because he has a big name. As much as we have big names in our division, it’s gonna be better for us, you know. We gonna make more money, and our weight class gonna be like, you know, famous. It’s still famous.” It was indeed lightweights like Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who took UFC to great heights with their rivalry. And now, Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje worked really hard to propel the division further. Tsarukyan continued, “There are so big names. And if Ilia moves to 155, you know, it’s gonna be good for us.”

‘El Matador’ has been repeatedly asking Makhachev for a fight in the lightweight realm. But the LW champ wanted him to prove himself worthy first. But that’s not the only reason why the Dagestani champion doesn’t want to fight Topuria. Well, the answer was simple. Makhachev knew that he wouldn’t get a second belt if he fought Topuria. He said, “What’s the fight for? For me, it means nothing. Just his name. I don’t need his name; I need the belt.”

However, a match between Topuria and Makhachev would be nothing short of an exciting package of action. The hype around the match, which might never happen, was enough to push Henry Cejudo into thinking that it’d be bigger than some of the most-anticipated fights. Let’s see what ‘Triple C’ had to say.

Veteran claims Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria would be the biggest UFC event

Not too long ago, during a conversation with Kamaru Usman on the Pound4Pound podcast, ‘Triple C’ revealed his opinion on the matchup between Makhachev and Topuria. The Olympic medalist even claimed that it would be a matchup that could go higher than the one between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall. Cejudo said, “I personally believe that (Makhachev vs. Topuria) could potentially be bigger than Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall.” 

But it was said from a competitive standpoint. ‘Triple C’ went on, “Competitively, of course. It’s not just that–it’s the simple fact that Ilia Topuria has a chance to become champ-champ…But in this case, if Ilia wins, that puts him in a category of, ‘F*ck, you beat the former pound-for-pound (best) in (Alexander) Volkanovski, and you’re beating the current pound-for-pound in a guy like Islam Makhachev.’ Give him his flowers.”

Nevertheless, with the featherweight champion nagging around Makhachev for a chance to fight him, the lightweight king finally agreed to go up against him in the Octagon. However, he openly declared that his heart wasn’t in the matchup. And if the fight ever materializes, people would talk about it as Makhachev dominating a guy from a lower-weight class. This wouldn’t get him the glory that he wanted. 

But what do you think of Topuria’s desire to move to the lightweight division? Should he accept Tsarukyan’s advice and move up in the weight class? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.