Light-weight champion Ilia Topuria could possibly be again within the octagon sooner fairly than later. “El Matador” teased his return in a social media submit on Tuesday.
“The Champ is again,” Topuria wrote on Instagram accompanied by coaching images and movies.
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In November, Topuria introduced that he was taking an prolonged break from preventing to cope with divorce. It was unknown how lengthy the champion can be sidelined however he indicated that he wouldn’t be preventing within the first quarter of 2026. In his absence, the combat promotion opted to crown an interim titleholder.
Former interim champion Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett fought for the interim crown within the UFC 325 fundamental occasion on Jan. 24. Gaethje defeated “The Baddy” to grow to be two-time interim titleholder and earned a title unification bout towards Topuria.
Topuria, a two-division UFC champion, received the 145-pound title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February 2024. He defended the featherweight championship as soon as, knocking out former titleholder Max Holloway at UFC 308.
Following his knockout wins over two of the best featherweights in UFC historical past, Topuria relinquished his 145-pound championship to maneuver as much as the light-weight division and problem for a second UFC divisional title. He knocked out former champion Charles Oliveira to win the vacant light-weight championship at UFC 317 final June. He is anticipated to face Gaethje in a title unification bout final this yr. It will be Topuria’s first light-weight title protection.
