Ilia Topuria Teases His Next Fight – ‘I Already Have A Date’

UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia Topuria has said he has a date for a fight in Spain. 

The champion is coming off the biggest win of his career when he stopped Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. The win extended his undefeated record to 7-0 in the UFC, with a 15-0 overall record in MMA. It ended Volkanovski’s four-year reign as champion, giving the Australian his first stoppage loss. There has been much speculation over who his opponent could be. The rematch with Volkanovski makes sense.

The Australian indicated his desire to run things back. As a former champion who dominated for so long, there is a narrative in place for that. Topuria has also been mentioned as Max Holloway’s opponent. Holloway is the current BMF Champion. He stopped Justin Gaethje in a memorable fight at UFC 300, landing a big right hand to end the fight with just a second left.

Topuria’s Next Fight

After the win, Holloway called out Topuria, who was cage side. While Topuria responded by talking up a fight, he qualified that statement. He was only willing to fight Holloway if the BMF Title was on the line. That did not go down well with Holloway since he felt a BMF Champion should fight any opponent regardless of whether a belt is on the line.

Brian Ortega has also been mentioned as an opponent. Ortega beat Yair Rodriguez in his last fight. However, he is on a poor run of form, with only two wins out of his last four UFC bouts. Topuria did mention a fight with Conor McGregor. Given that Topuria wants the fights that will produce the biggest purses, he has plenty of options. 

“We’re going to Spain. If there’s a venue available for us, we’ll be there. We’re definitely going to Spain … and it would be a pay-per-view. I already have a date for UFC Spain,” Topuria said

But Holloway and Volkanovski have questioned his hunger. 

Topuria’s Criticism

“That’s not a very ‘BMF’ way to say it. A ‘BMF’ wouldn’t say, ‘I’m not going to fight this guy unless …’ That’s kind of un-‘BMF.’ Doesn’t sound ‘BMF’ the way he’s trying to demand it and saying, ‘I’m not going to fight.’ A ‘BMF’ fights whatever, fights whoever, whenever, any weight, any time, and that’s not a tone of a ‘BMF,” Holloway stated 

“Right now, he’s saying ‘no’ to everyone. That’s the problem. He’s saying no to Max Holloway, to Brian Ortega, to me, you name it. Not wanting to come to Australia, okay, but he’s saying ‘no’ to everyone. He’s saying ‘I don’t want to fight any of the contenders … I want to fight Conor McGregor’. That just puts a sour taste in people’s mouths. Because when you hold the belt, there is a responsibility that comes with that, a pressure. You can’t just be saying ‘nah, nah, nah’, that’s crazy — he’s not going about things the right way,” Volkanovski revealed