We all know that Ilia Topuria is gunning for Islam Makhachev‘s lightweight title. But with each passing day, the lightweight champion has made it clear that his featherweight counterpart needs to earn his stripes before challenging for the 155-lb title. But all isn’t lost for ‘El Matador’ as another lightweight contender has the 145-lb champion in his crosshairs. Who is this? Well, stay tuned because we’re back with another edition of MMA Roundup.

From Ilia Topuria’s lightweight move, we’ll move on to another lightweight Renato Moicano who made a confession about his next fight in the division. Finally, we will end our segment with some information about Daniel Cormier, his podcaster in crime and a certain new player in the MMA world. So without much ado, let’s get right into it.

Dustin Poirier reacts to Ilia Topuria’s fight proposition

For a change, instead of the usual callouts laced with bravado, we’re seeing one that spells a brewing bromance between featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and former interim lightweight champ Dustin Poirier. While having a conversation with the Full Send Podcast,’ ‘El Matador’ issued a callout to ‘The Diamond’ but with respect, “I love that dog Dustin Poirier. He’s a fighter, you know what I mean…he goes in and he fights till he dies. You’re going to have that guy in front of you fighting and trying to take your head off. That’s a very exciting fight for me and I think for the fans also.”

Responding to Ilia Topuria’s callout, the former interim lightweight champion delivered a classy yet calculated rebuttal, “A warrior knows one when he sees one, nothing but respect.” Ilia Topuria has been looking to jump divisions as the featherweight champion has asserted that he is done with the 145 lbs division and is looking to fight any top lightweight fighter. Among the names in his crosshairs is of course lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, former champion Charlies Oliveira, and now Dustin Poirier.

Whether that fight happens or not, it does provid an exciting prospect for fans, as we could see Poirier fight his last promotional bout against Topuria. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see how things pan out. For our next story, we stick with the UFC lightweight division and a certain fighter who might have unexpectedly dropped a big revelation.

Renato Moicano reveals the next adventure for Paddy Pimblett

Despite getting on some people’s nerves, Liverpudlian Paddy Pimblett has consistently delivered strong performances, remaining unbeaten in the UFC. The Scouser’s beefs are well-documented in the UFC, particularly those with Georgian-Spanish featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and Brazilian lightweight contender Renato Moicano.

So who is ‘The Baddy’ fighting next? Is it Topuria or Moicano? Neither, according to ‘Money’ Moicano has he accidentally dropped some insider info about Pimblett’s next fight in a conversation with Gilbert Burns on the Show Me The Money podcast. The conversation happened to be around lightweight contender Mateusz Gamrot, when Moicano blurted out, “Do you know he’s fighting Pimblett?” What followed was an awkward silence, before the former lightweight title contender asserted that it was just a rumor he heard on social media.

Did he really hear it from social media, or Gamrot himself, who is a training partner of Renato Moicano? A fight against Mateusz Gamrot gives Paddy Pimblett the ability to enter the lightweight top 10. For now, we can only wait for updates on that matchup. Now, let’s move on to our last story about two bonafide UFC legends and a certain new player in the MMA landscape.

Daniel Cormier jokes about GFL reaching out to him and Chael Sonnen

GFL has been aggressive in its attempt to poach fighters and market them to the extent that they can achieve UFC-level stardom and make a name for themselves. The World’s newest MMA promotion has been hiring fighters from all spectrums, from Dillon Danis to even Daniel Cormier, who appeared to have declined their offer for a fight.

The lengths that the Global Fight League (GFL) has gone to, to acquire legendary names in the sport. With the average age being 35, and some fighters being well above 40, many in the fight community have begun to call the GFL ‘Grandpa Fight League’ or the ‘Geriatric Fight League’. The league has drafted the who’s who of the MMA world, marquee legends in the sport. So then it wouldn’t be surprising if the GFL reached out to UFC legends Daniel Cormier and fellow legend Chael Sonnen.

During a conversation at The Ultimate Fighter 33 media day, Daniel Cormier revealed that he told Dana White he wouldn’t be able to fight after the season, as he no longer has that itch to compete. In response, the UFC CEO jokingly asked whether the GFL had made them an offer, “We aren’t fighting. I told Dana [White] this yesterday, I don’t wanna fight anybody because he was making fun of us. He goes, ‘Did the GFL call you guys?’ I was like, ‘They didn’t even call me because they know I don’t wanna fight and Chael probably turned him down.’ So like, we’re good. I go, ‘I just have no desire to fight anyone.’

It’s a long-standing tradition for TUF coaches to fight each other at the end of the season. This time, it’s different because both coaches are retired legends of the sport. With DC claiming that he doesn’t have it in him anymore, it looks like, he won’t be signing to the GFL as well. Same for Chael Sonnen. What do you think go the latest hubbub? Let us know in the comments down below.