Ilia Topuria’s move to the lightweight division has become a hot topic in the fighting community. Topuria’s relinquishment of his featherweight strap makes his message clear. He intends to fight against Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. However, the fighting world has one concern regarding the move. And that’s the vacant featherweight belt. Why did ‘El Matador’ have to leave his title behind? Well, Dan Hooker seemed to have found an explanation for that. 

During his conversation with Denis Shkuratov on Submission Radio, the talk show host asked Hooker about his opinion on Topuria moving to the LW division and hoping for a title shot. ‘The Hangman’ replied, “If they were just gonna have him shoot for like the double champ status, then I don’t think they would have stripped him of his title.”

He admitted that Topuria might have been a bit inactive, but Dana White and Co. haven’t always taken away the champions’ titles. Take Alexander Volkanovski for example. The former featherweight champion fought Makhachev twice but he never had to relinquish his belt to attain the opportunity. 

Weighing in on this, Hooker went on, “I think that they just took it off him as a bit of a show of force, just to be like ‘Brother, you fight when we tell you to fight.’ I think that’s more of what’s going on. I don’t think it’s a situation where he’s gonna get an instant title shot from when he moves up. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does get the instant title shot. It’s just weird that they took the title. I don’t think that they want him to go up. I think it’s a show of force from the UFC.”

Famed MMA reporter Ariel Helwani shared Dan Hooker’s mindset. He claimed that the UFC simply wasn’t a fan of pitting Ilia Topuria against Islam Makhachev. It was because the big guns didn’t like to hold up the divisions unless something interesting brewed across the two divisions. So, why exactly did ‘El Matador’ make the move? Let’s hear it from his coach, Jorge Climent.

Ilia Topuria’s coach explains why he made it to the lightweight club

Topuria has often complained that he had trouble making weight in the featherweight division. Of course, these claims went louder when he began targeting Makhachev. But his coach seemed to believe that it was all because of human biology that makes it hard to cut weight. Climent, during his appearance on Submission Radio, said, “Yeah, the real thing, I think, is he hates to cut weight. He does it a lot of times, and it’s very hard every time we do it. He doesn’t want to do this anymore, and that’s why he wants to go up to the next weight class, you know, because he thinks his normal weight is in that weight class.”

Ilia Topuria was a featherweight when he was in his early 20s and now that he has entered his 30s, his body has continued to grow heavier. It’s not just fat, but also muscles that add up to this weight gain. And with more muscles than water or fat, weight cut becomes nigh on impossible. And when he had to move from 187 lbs to 145 lbs, he simply couldn’t bear it. 

But the size difference is still significant. Topuria is way smaller than Makhachev, and most of the lightweights competing in the Octagon. To stand up against them, ‘El Matador’ would indeed have to work hard and prove that he’s worthy of becoming the new lightweight title challenger. Till then, we’ll have to wait and let the Spaniard compete. 

What are your thoughts on Topuria’s move to the LW division? Do you think he can win against Makhachev? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.