Before dominating Max Holloway earlier this year, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria had already set his sights on a bigger challenge. The Spanish fighter wanted to move up to the lightweight division to face Islam Makhachev for his title. However, the idea wasn’t taken seriously by many, as Topuria still had unfinished business in the 145-pound division.

Additionally, UFC President Dana White is well-known for being reluctant to let champions move up in weight before fully solidifying their reign in their respective division. ‘El Matador’ has now announced that he wants to move up to the 155 lbs division next in his career. So is the fight with Islam Makhachev still on the cards? His coach has the answer for you.

Ilia Topuria’s fight with Islam Makhachev might still happen feels Coach Climent

Following his successful defense of the lightweight title at UFC 302 earlier this year, Islam Makhachev underwent hand surgery, sidelining him for the remainder of the year. Makhachev will now be defending his belt against Arman Tsarukyan early next year at UFC 311. Meanwhile, featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has continued to express his desire to face Makhachev, prompting the Russian lightweight king to address the growing rivalry between them. The rivalry escalated recently when Makhachev hinted at the possibility of a confrontation “on the streets.”

In response, Topuria dismissed the idea, saying he would only fight Makhachev inside the cage, joking that he didn’t want to end up covering his medical expenses after a street fight. The lightweight champion said, “In terms of my fighting career, I’m not interested in fighting Topuria at all. He’s in a different weight class. I’ll beat him, and what will that do for me?” While Makhachev may not be interested in the fight Topuria’s coach Jorge Climent has different ideas. He feels Makhachev may have smartly avoided the 27-year-old but in the future, the clash may happen.

The MMA coach from Alicante, Spain recently spoke on the ‘Submission Radio’ show and shared his honest opinion on the entire scenario. Climent said, “I understand his position. He [gave] the opportunity to Alex to fight for the belt. Maybe he thinks Ilia doesn’t deserve to make [that fight] happen if he doesn’t fight first with the top 10 ranked. I think he’s intelligent and I think in the future maybe it’s going to happen.” Furthermore, the Spanish coach thinks that Islam Makhachev will win against Arman Tsarukyan, and will be champion until the current featherweight champion gets to him.

Ilia Topuria, on the other hand, has new plans and wants to make a move to the lightweight division next. His coach said that the primary reason ‘El Matador’ plans to leave the featherweight division is because he’s exhausted from the extreme weight cuts required to make the 145-pound limit. Topuria’s coach revealed that the fighter typically walks around at around 187 pounds when not preparing for a fight, meaning he has to shed more than forty pounds to reach the 145-pound limit. But who are his targets in the division? Let us find out about it below.

Ilia Topuria is ready to test his skills against anyone in the division next

It came as a shock when Ilia Topuria suddenly announced that he plans to move up to 155 pounds, and not just for a one-off title fight with Islam Makhachev, but as a permanent move to what most consider is the most stacked division in the UFC. The opponent he’s targeting is Charles Oliveira, who is likely next in line for a title shot. However, getting that fight won’t be easy, as ‘do Bronx’ may not want to risk his spot in the title picture by facing the dangerous Georgian-Spaniard.

This has led many to wonder: if not Oliveira, then who? Topuria’s coach, Jorge Climent, provided an unexpected answer.  “I know Dustin Poirier is looking for his final fight. Would you have any interest in Dustin Poirier?” the coach was asked during an interview with ‘Submission Radio’.

Coach Climent made it clear that the featherweight champion is prepared to take on anyone in the division next. He said, “Yeah, I [saw] yesterday… It’s another big match for Ilia Topuria. I don’t know, I think the best opportunity is to fight with the number one top-ranking [guy]. But if there is not this option [fight with Charles Oliveira], why not? I think Ilia is prepared to fight with everybody”. Ilia Topuria is without a doubt one of the most dominant champions in the featherweight division. His move to lightweight would be a big loss for the 145-pound division as fans would love to see him stay there, and defend against the likes of Diego Lopes, or even Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch.

But do you think making a move to the lightweight division is the right thing for him? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.