"I would give him a crack at the lightweight title" - Dustin Poirier gets brutally honest on why Ilia Topuria deserves to fight Islam Makhachev nextÂ
Dustin Poirier shared his thoughts on Ilia Topuria potentially receiving a title shot in his lightweight debut. After winning and defending the featherweight title in 2024, Topuria announced his decision to move up to lightweight due to issues with weight cutting.
He recently vacated the 145-pound title to finalize this move, which has sparked speculation about him potentially getting an immediate title shot against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. While Makhachev and his camp have stated that Topuria needs to fight a contender before challenging for the title, Poirier disagrees.
In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, 'The Diamond' was asked whether Topuria deserves an immediate title shot in the lightweight division. He responded:
"It's tough to say, espcially with all the contenders... How the lightweight division has been over the last few years. But, with a guy like him, vacating the belt and moving up, finishing Max Holloway the way he did... Like, I would give him a crack at the lightweight title right off the bat."
Check out Dustin Poirier's comments below (2:32):
Makhachev's hesitation to grant Topuria an immediate title shot is largely due to the fact that his first two title defenses were against Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria's predecessor, in 2023.
While many believe Topuria could present a significant challenge for Makhachev, the Dagestani fighter has expressed a desire to pursue titles in the welterweight and middleweight divisions, rather than offering a chance to another featherweight champion.
Dustin Poirier praises Ilia Topuria vacating the featherweight title, but questions size parity for lightweight
Many divisional champions have attempted to challenge for titles in higher weight classes, but with the exception of Jon Jones, none have vacated their titles before moving up. This has led to congestion in the title picture and the creation of interim titles multiple times in recent UFC history.
In contrast, Ilia Topuria vacated the UFC featherweight title before officially announcing his move to lightweight. In the aforementioned interview with MMA Fighting, Dustin Poirier praised Topuria's decision but expressed concerns about Topuria's size in comparison to other lightweight contenders.
"It's respectful, it's honorable to vacate the belt, not hold up the division where guys have been working so hard to get their shot at the title. He's doing it the right way, you know. I've never seen him in person, but everybody says he's heavy, he walks around heavy. But, if he can make 145, I don't know how big he is, because, some of these lightweights are huge." [2:02]
Dustin Poirier is expected to retire from professional MMA after his next fight. Although no opponent has been announced yet, some fans are interested in seeing him welcome Topuria to the lightweight division, especially if Islam Makhachev is unavailable to fight the Spaniard in the near future.