Ilia Topuria has laid his cards on the table.
Topuria, the current UFC lightweight champion, is making his interest in a near-future welterweight move known to the MMA world. “La Leyenda” hopes to get a shot at the belt at 170 pounds should he be successful in his lightweight title unification bout against Justin Gaethje in the main event of UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in Washington on June 14.
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“Always, always,” Topuria told UFC’s Megan Olivi when asked if he still wants to move up to welterweight. “I want to connect the third belt. Everyone knows that. After this fight, if the UFC wants to give me the opportunity to move up to the welterweight division and fight against the current champion, Islam Makhachev, I’ll be very happy. Why not? If you don’t take risks, there is no champagne.”
Topuria and the current welterweight champion, Islam Makhachev, have engaged in a bit of a rivalry in the last few years. When Topuria was at featherweight, he actively called for Makhachev, who at the time was champion at 155 pounds. Makhachev vacated his lightweight belt and moved up and beat Jack Della Maddalena to claim the welterweight title. Meanwhile, Topuria moved up to lightweight and beat Charles Oliveira for the title Makhachev vacated.
Topuria thinks his move up to welterweight solely depends on the UFC, as he’s ultra-confident he’ll unify against Gaethje.
“Every fighter is different. They bring different styles inside the octagon,” Topuira said. “I’ve never faced anyone like Justin. He’s a legendary fighter. I like him as a fan, and I always love to watch all his fights because they’re very entertaining. But when you talk about me fighting him, as I told you before, I don’t see any possibilities for him.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ilia Topuria hopes UFC grants welterweight title shot with Justin Gaethje win
