UFC lightweight provides big update on Ilia Topuria’s potential return date

UFC lightweight Arman Tsarukyan has provided an update on Ilia Topuria’s potential return to the Octagon.

As we know, there’s been a great deal of speculation over Ilia Topuria’s future for a while now. Some believe that he’s going to fight Justin Gaethje, others think it’s going to be Arman Tsarukyan, and some don’t really care who it is – they just want an active champion.

RELATED: Arman Tsarukyan firmly believes that UFC rival Ilia Topuria is ducking him

Regardless of which camp you fall into, there’s no denying that Topuria has quickly become one of the most exciting fighters in all of mixed martial arts. His star power is growing with each and every passing fight and while he may not exactly be on Conor McGregor’s level, he’s certainly writing his name into the history books as he goes.

In a recent interview, however, Arman Tsarukyan suggested that we may not see Topuria compete for the rest of the year.

Tsarukyan on Topuria’s comeback

“(Topuria) wants to come back in January or February,” Tsarukyan told Adam Zubayraev. “And I haven’t fought in a long time.

“So I think I’ll need to fight in October or November. And I talked to the boss yesterday. They said maybe they will set up a fight with someone.

“In Abu Dhabi or in Qatar…maybe Gaethje, maybe (Dan) Hooker, maybe Paddy,” Tsarukyan added, pointing to the Scouser as his preferred opponent.

Quotes via Bloody Elbow

Hopefully, we see Ilia get back in the cage before the end of the year. If not, though, it’s down to the rest of the division to sort out who the real number one contender is.

Who do you want to see Ilia Topuria battle in his next fight? Can you picture him going up to welterweight at some point in the future? Let us know, BJPENN Nation!