Ilia Topuria reveals he promised UFC he wouldn’t move up to welterweight straight away

UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria has made an interesting revelation regarding a possible move up to welterweight.

As we know, Ilia Topuria is the biggest active star in mixed martial arts today – or at the very least, one of them. He has already achieved some incredible things in his career and it would appear as if he has a lot more planned before he calls it a day. He has won belts in two weight classes and if he has his way, he’ll go in pursuit of a third at 170 pounds at some point in the future.

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Of course, one of the reasons for Topuria doing so would be so that he can finally square off with Islam Makhachev. It’s the kind of dream fight that fans have been wanting to see for quite some time now but after Makhachev left the lightweight division, it suddenly doesn’t seem quite so feasible.

In a recent interview, Topuria revealed that he actually promised the promotion that he wouldn’t immediately venture up to welterweight upon winning the lightweight title.

Topuria discusses possible welterweight switch

“I thought about [moving up],” Topuria said on About Last Fight. “But the last conversation I had with the UFC they personally asked me the favor like ‘don’t tell us after the fight that you want to move to the welterweight division. Make us a promise.’ I was like ‘promise.’ I was [crossing my fingers]. I promise.”

Quotes via MMA Fighting

Get ready, folks, because ‘El Matador’ has a big plan for the next few years.

Do you believe we’re going to see Ilia Topuria go after a third world title? If he does, what are the odds that he’s able to pull it off and become the first to ever achieve that feat? Let us know, BJPENN Nation!