“He beat Volk and Holloway, dude” - Ex-UFC champ backs Ilia Topuria’s potential lightweight move amid criticism for ‘El Matador’
Ilia Topuria's time at 145 pounds may be over, to the surprise of many fans and pundits in MMA. The Spaniard successfully defended the featherweight title against Max Holloway at UFC 308, knocking out the Hawaiian in Round 3, the first fighter to do so.
Topuria brutally knocked out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 to win the title, and having defeated 'The Great' and Holloway by KO in back-to-back fights, many foresaw a dominant reign as featherweight champion for 'El Matador'.
But according to his coach, the rumors of the 27-year-old eyeing a move to lightweight are true. Topuria's desire to move to 155 pounds has garnered much criticism from fans, particularly given that it seemed a rematch against Volkanovski was already in the works.
However, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has supported the featherweight champion's plan to move northwards in search of a second title. During a recent episode of the MMArcade Podcast, hosted by Whittaker, he said this:
"If he really is struggling with the weight cut [at featherweight], he can go up. He beat Volk and Holloway, dude. I'm happy with him going up. [Volkanovski and Holloway] just ran the division, clean. Ran the division. I'd like to see [Topuria] go up and see what that looks like. See how his box-grappling works against those bigger dudes. See how big he gets in those fights, because he's obviously a chiseled guy. I'm curious."
Watch Robert Whittaker discuss Ilia Topuria below (27:35):
Dan Hooker slams Ilia Topuria's desire to move to lightweight
Ilia Topuria was expected to face Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch after the Spaniard knocked out Max Holloway at UFC 308. 'El Matador' and Volkanovski went as far as sharing a face-off in the octagon after the fight, but Topuria's apparent eagerness to move to lightweight has complicated those fight plans.
Friend and part-time teammate of 'The Great', Dan Hooker, recently took aim at the featherweight champion for his change of mind in facing the Australian. Hooker's comments came during an interview with Submission Radio, where he said this:
"Don't get in the f**king cage with [Volkanovski] and agree to fight him then, d**khead. You let him get in the cage, you had a face-off with him and you said you would fight him. Bro, man to man, that's that. You've agreed. You've already agreed to a fight."
Check out Dan Hooker's comments about Ilia Topuria below (9:20):