The shark-infested waters of the lightweight division just got even deeper as Ilia Topuria officially vacated his featherweight title to move up to 155lbs—the most stacked and cutthroat weight class in the sport. But was walking away from his throne the right call? UFC commentator and former champion Daniel Cormier isn’t so sure. With fresh blood finally emerging at 145lbs and Topuria’s reign still in its infancy, DC believes that abandoning such hard-earned territory seems unwarranted and premature. After all, building a legacy takes time, and renouncing a division he fought so hard to conquer raises legitimate concerns.

“You know what’s crazy is that when you’re Ilia and you have a star quality about you, you seem like you can sell out a 75,000 seats Santiago Bernabeu [stadium] in Madrid, you have the option to say ‘hey I’m going to make these guys [Lopes and Volkanovski] fight for the interim title.’ The UFC would not have forced him to vacate,” Cormier said on his official YouTube channel.

Well, to be fair we don’t know if Topuria wanted to keep his title for the time being and move up or the UFC asked him to do that. But, as ‘DC’ pointed out, the Spanish-Georgian’s sheer star power means that the promotion probably didn’t force him to give up his featherweight crown. In fact, it may have been in the promotion’s interest to have Topuria keep the title for now since it would undoubtedly have created more hype for the upcoming UFC 314 Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes featherweight title fight.

Why? Well, because fans would have been more interested in seeing that bout if the winner of that clash had a chance of facing Topuria, who is on a Conor McGregor-like trajectory as far as star power and popularity are concerned. This is why Cormier confidently asserted that Topuria probably “made that decision on his own”. In fact, the former double champ found this move pretty admirable but wasn’t at all surprised.

But it is kind of par for the course when you think about Ilia Topuria, he really does carry himself like a politician, right? Well-dressed, well-spoken, very respectful of mixed martial arts. He seems to do all the right things and in this instance, most would believe that he’s doing the right thing because he’s not going to hold up the entire division,” Cormier added.

In fact, ‘DC’ admitted that if he was in Topuria’s place, he “would have been a little selfish in this situation.” And for good reason! The risk is too big for ‘El Matador’. “Because what if he loses?” Cormier asked. “What if he does earn a title fight and what if he loses? Now he’s not even the featherweight champion anymore. [Topuria] should have held on to the belt, waited Lopes and Volkanovski would have gladly fought for an interim championship.”

Just not so long ago, Cormier stepped up to heavyweight while reigning as the 205lbs champ to realize his goal of becoming a two-division king. And he did just that! By brutally knocking out Stipe Miocic in the first round at UFC 226. After this, he vacated his light heavyweight crown and made the 265lbs class his permanent home up until his retirement.

The sport has also seen fighters holding up not one but two divisions at the same time to immortalize their name in the history books! Enter Conor McGregor who won the 145lbs strap in 13 seconds by slaying Brazilian great Jose Aldo at UFC 194. The Irishman’s ascent to the top was rapid as he neutralized Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 for the 155lbs strap with 0 defenses of his featherweight gold, holding up the 145lbs division. Adding to this, the Dubliner then moved to the world of boxing and riches to clash against Floyd Mayweather and in turn, held two weight classes hostage, with no defenses in either of the two territories. It is safe to say that ‘El Matador’ has been kinder in this aspect!

In addition, Topuria, more than anything else, has supreme and absolute self-confidence in himself. He probably has no doubt that he will win the lightweight title and is therefore up for the massive risk that comes with this move. But with Topuria moving up, there are a couple of questions that the fans are curious about.

Why is Ilia Topuria moving up and who will he fight first?

Why did Ilia Topuria move up to lightweight, seemingly for good? Well, mostly because ‘El Matador’ found the weight cut to 145 pounds too difficult. “Topuria has felt like he’s done all he can in that division, and he feels like he’s cemented his legacy, and his body cannot make the weight anymore,” White told fans on an Instagram Live session earlier this week, echoing what Topuria’s coach has said recently.

But the more important question is, who will Topuria fight on his return to the lightweight division (competing previously against Jai Herbert in 2022)? Well, according to White, they don’t know at the moment. “We will announce what Topuria’s next fight will be when we get it done,” White said on the same Instagram Live session. The most exciting and consequential fight for Topuria, of course, is a title clash against lightweight champ Islam Makhachev.

The Dagestani doesn’t have a contender knocking down the door for a title shot at the moment, except perhaps for Charles Oliveira. Other than Makhachev, the #1 ranked lightweight, Arman Tsarukyan is a prime candidate to fight Topuria on his 155-pound debut, as is Oliveira. In addition, the winner of the Dan Hooker vs. Justin Gaethje UFC 313 clash would also be a good fight for ‘El Matador’, as would a clash with the legendary Dustin Poirier.

In fact, the latter seems to be Topuria’s pick, since he recently spoke about wanting to fight him. “At this point, just imagine a fight between me and – I love that dog, Dustin Poirier. He’s a f—ing fighter. He goes in and he fights til’ he dies. You’re gonna have that guy in front of you fighting and try to take your head off. That’s a very exciting fight for me and I think for the fans also,” Topuria said on the ‘Fullsend’ podcast.

What do you think about Daniel Cormier’s take on Ilia Topuria moving up? Let us know what you think about his chances at 155lbs.