After conquering the featherweight division, Ilia Topuria has his sights set on the lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev. After the champ’s recent win over Renato Moicano at UFC 311, ‘El Matador’ sent him a message, claiming that they’d meet soon. While that’s an exciting fight to think about, former UFC and ONE flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson believes there’s another opponent Topuria should consider before fighting Makhachev.

Demetrious Johnson sat down for an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports’s Andrew Whitelaw as he landed in Thailand to witness the ONE 170 action in Bangkok. There, the 38-year-old commented on Ilia Topuria’s 155-pound quest, claiming that he should consider fighting Arman Tsarukyan first. The Armenian star recently pulled out just a day before the initial planned headliner for UFC 311, as he was in line to fight for the title. He had to withdraw due to an alleged injury. Hence, ‘El Matador’ fighting him makes sense for the featherweight champion because a win over ‘Akhalkalakets’ would land him directly in a title fight against Islam Makhachev.

“I think that’s a great fight [Topuria vs Makhachev]. I don’t know who else is left in that division for Topuria and the same thing with Islam Makhachev,”
Demetrious Johnson stated. “I think they are gonna have to run it back for him and Arman [Tsarukyan]… I think if Topuria can fight Arman – if he beats Arman, they need [Topuria] to fight Islam.”

While ‘Mighty Mouse’ suggests Ilia Topuria fight Arman Tsarukyan, the Georgian-Spaniard already has an opponent in mind. The opponent he wants to face is not only a top lightweight contender but a veteran and a former champion as well. Here’s what the UFC featherweight champion had to say.

Ilia Topuria wants Charles Oliveira before Islam Makhachev

Back when plans for Arman Tsarukyan vs Islam Makhachev were in full swing, Ilia Topuria shed light on how he wanted to start his lightweight journey. First off, he cleared the air surrounding his featherweight run, which he claims was over. Topuria might even relinquish his title, and in his first in the weight class above, he wants to fight Charles Oliveira, who’s also in the running for a lightweight title rematch against Islam Makhachev.

“Since Islam (Makhachev) is the champion fighting in January [against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311], and he won’t be ready for April or May, I’d like to fight against the No. 1 contender right now, who’s Charles Oliveira,” Ilia Topuria told El Partidazo de COPE. Even Arman Tsarukyan now wants ‘Do Bronx’ to make his claim back to the title picture. It seems like Dana White has a really interesting problem at hand with the potential to make some guaranteed banger fights.

Well, we can’t be sure of anything until there is any official word on what the future holds for Ilia Topuria. Also, we are yet to get the exact date for Arman Tsarukyan’s return from injury. Hence, we will have to wait for further development on this front, but let us know your thoughts on Demetrious Johnson‘s suggestion to ‘El Matador’ in the comments down below.