Ilia Topuria News

Harry Kettle - December 15, 2025

UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria has revealed his future plans to leave mixed martial arts for professional boxing. As we know, Ilia Topuria is one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts today. He is a fantastic fighter in every sense of the word and in his last three fights alone, he has been able to knock out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira to become a two-weight UFC world champion.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 14, 2025

Ilia Topuria admits he finds both Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje to be deserving of their interim title fight at UFC 324. Topuria would’ve been a clear choice to headline UFC’s debut on Paramount+ on Jan. 24. The problem is, the reigning lightweight titleholder in on hiatus to deal with personal matters. As a result, Pimblett vs. Gaethje has been booked with the interim championship at stake.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 14, 2025

Despite having beef with Ilia Topuria, Paddy Pimblett hopes “El Matador’s” personal issues can be squared away. Topuria, the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, recently revealed that he is on hiatus to handle his current situation. As a result, an interim title fight has been booked between Pimblett and Justin Gaethje. That bout will headline UFC 324 on Jan. 24.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 14, 2025

Ilia Topuria has made quite the assertion about what a win for Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 would do. Gaethje is an underdog going into his interim UFC Lightweight Championship fight against Paddy Pimblett, which is scheduled for Jan. 24. The fight will headline UFC’s debut event on Paramount+. It’s a new era for UFC, as the top MMA promotion ditches pay-per-view.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - December 7, 2025

Ilia Topuria has sent words of encouragement to Merab Dvalishvili following UFC 323. Dvalishvili was chasing history on Saturday in Las Vegas. “The Machine” was attempting to set a new record for the most successful UFC title defenses in a single year. Petr Yan had other plans, as he avenged a 2023 loss against Dvalishvili via unanimous decision.

Dylan Bowker - November 28, 2025

Ilia Topuria recently tipped his proverbial cap to Cristiano Ronaldo as the soccer star has revealed he now has major stakes in an MMA promotion partly owned by the UFC lightweight champion. Way of the Warrior FC is a surging Spanish mixed martial arts organization, and via his X account @Cristiano, Ronaldo said, “I’m excited to share some big news: I will become a shareholder of @wowfcmma ! We share values I truly believe in – discipline, respect, resilience, and the constant pursuit of excellence. WOW FC is building something unique and powerful, and I’m proud to join this project to help elevate the sport and inspire the next generation.”

Harry Kettle - November 28, 2025

UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria has revealed that he will not compete in the first quarter of 2026 due to personal reasons. For quite some time now, Ilia Topuria has been viewed as one of the scariest fighters in all of mixed martial arts. One of the reasons for that, we would imagine, is because he has been able to knock out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira across his last three fights.

Harry Kettle - November 26, 2025

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has explained why Arman Tsarukyan is a scary fight for Ilia Topuria fans to contend with. In the main event of UFC Qatar last weekend, Arman Tsarukyan really reached the next level in his career. He dominated and finished Dan Hooker inside two rounds before making a clear statement of intent: he wants to challenge Ilia Topuria for the UFC lightweight championship.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 23, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan believes he can make things look easy in a UFC title fight against Ilia Topuria. Tsarukyan earned the headlining spot on the UFC Qatar card against Dan Hooker this past Saturday. The bout did not go the distance, as Tsarukyan secured an arm-triangle choke in the second stanza to end the fight. Now that he’s won his fifth bout in a row, “Ahalkalakets” is hoping to secure a shot at Topuria’s UFC Lightweight Championship.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 23, 2025

Ilia Topuria has taken issue with Arman Tsarukyan’s constant ducking accusations. Tsarukyan took center stage in the main event of UFC Qatar. He submitted Dan Hooker in the second round. “Ahalkalakets” has been pounding the table for a shot at Topuria’s UFC Lightweight Championship. He’s gone as far as to say “El Matador” has been ducking him.

Curtis Calhoun - November 21, 2025

UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria and top contender Paddy Pimblett exchanged barbs while at the UFC Qatar weigh-ins. Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett could be on the verge of squaring off in the Octagon in 2026. After Topuria secured the UFC lightweight title at UFC 317, he and his longtime rival Pimblett faced off before things got physical and nearly escalated into a chaotic scene.

Curtis Calhoun - November 18, 2025

Manager Ali Abdelaziz says Ilia Topuria could suffer a similar fate as Dillon Danis if he continues to taunt Islam Makhachev. Just before Islam Makhachev won a second UFC title at UFC 322 over Jack Della Maddalena, members of his team were escorted out of Madison Square Garden after getting into a brawl with Dillon Danis cageside. The incident happened after months of bad blood between Danis, Makhachev, and their respective teams online.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - November 6, 2025

A well-known UFC lightweight believes he knows who should challenge Ilia Topuria for the 155-pound gold. Topuria hasn’t competed since capturing the title back in June. “El Matador” knocked out Charles Oliveira in the opening frame of the UFC 317 headliner. After the fight, Topuria and Paddy Pimblett traded barbs before being separated by security.

Harry Kettle - November 3, 2025

UFC star Paddy Pimblett has made a big prediction for his potential UFC lightweight title showdown against rival Ilia Topuria. For the longest time now, Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria have had a pretty intense feud with one another – and that much is an understatement. These two men are eager to get in the cage and settle their differences once and for all, but up to this point, the only real fight they’ve had has been a fighter hotel brawl a couple of years ago.

Curtis Calhoun - October 24, 2025

UFC star Justin Gaethje shared a pointed message in response to Paddy Pimblett’s recent claims surrounding an offer on the table to fight Ilia Topuria. Justin Gaethje remains insistent that he’s the most deserving challenger for UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria’s first title defense in 2026. Gaethje, who hasn’t fought since a win over Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313, has repeatedly drawn a line in the sand surrounding his Octagon return.

Harry Kettle - October 23, 2025

UFC star Paddy Pimblett believes that Ilia Topuria is stalling over a potential lightweight title showdown between them. For the longest time, Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria have been embroiled in a rivalry. The two have disliked each other for as long as we can remember, and they even got into a physical altercation prior to them fighting on the same UFC London card a few years back.

Curtis Calhoun - October 17, 2025

UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria wants fellow Georgian Merab Dvalishvili to take on his former featherweight rival in pursuit of a second UFC title. Ilia Topuria became the latest two-division UFC champ when he knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 earlier this year. After vacating the featherweight throne, Topuria successfully moved up to lightweight and cemented himself as the pound-for-pound king.

Harry Kettle - October 15, 2025

UFC boss Dana White has teased the idea of Ilia Topuria headlining the first big UFC Paramount card next year. As we know, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will want to make a big splash when they begin their partnership with Paramount in 2026. As such, there’s been a lot of speculation regarding who could take part in the first major event on the network – and one of the names that keeps popping up is none other than UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.