Ilia Topuria aims to make UFC history as the first three-division champion
Ilia Topuria recently made a bold claim regarding his future UFC title aspirations and disclosed that he has big plans for the next three years of his career. He noted that he wants to make history and cement his legacy as the first three-division champion in the promotion's history.
'El Matador' is preparing for his first featherweight title defense against Max Holloway this Saturday at UFC 308, and could continue his surge into superstardom should he retain spectacularly. If Topuria finishes Holloway as he has promised, he could use that as leverage and strengthen his argument to challenge for a second championship sooner.
That's not the only first that the reigning featherweight champion has in mind as he has set his sights on adding more gold to his collection. While speaking to TNT Sports, Topuria shared his bold plans and mentioned that he is aiming to become the first three-division UFC champion by the time he turns 30 years old:
"[I would] probably [be] a three weight world champion. Yeah, that's my goal. You're not gonna see me in the welterweight division like this, skinny. You're gonna see me different. That's the goal, move up to the lightweight division, get that belt and then move up to the welterweight division."
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below:
Ilia Topuria claims nobody is on his level
In addition to his bold claim regarding his intention to become the first three-division champion in the promotion's history, Ilia Topuria also claimed that no other fighter is on his level.
During the latest episode of UFC 308: Embedded, Topuria mentioned that he plans to make a statement against Max Holloway this Saturday and prove that he is the best in the world:
"This is what I have been talking about during this whole process, right? No one is on my level right now and at this time, at this point in the mixed martial arts, I feel like I evolve the game, so I'm gonna prove it once again... I think Max [Holloway] is not ready for what's coming for him. He calls himself a problem solver, but I have many doubts that he's gonna solve this problem." [1:20 - 2:42]
Check out the full episode featuring Ilia Topuria's comments below: