{"id":38631,"date":"2026-06-03T17:02:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Ilia-Topuria-wants-to-become-threedivision-UFC-champion-201421"},"modified":"2026-06-03T17:02:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:02:44","slug":"ilia-topuria-wants-to-become-three-division-ufc-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/ilia-topuria-wants-to-become-three-division-ufc-champion\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilia Topuria wants to become three-division UFC champion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

Ilia
\nTopuria<\/a> would welcome an opportunity to move up to welterweight
\nafter his next title defense. <\/p>\n

Topuria will put his lightweight title on the line for the first
\ntime against interim champion Justin
\nGaethje<\/a> in the main event at
\nUFC White House<\/a> on June 14. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard
\nhas always teased a move up to welterweight to fight the champion,
\nIslam
\nMakhachev<\/a>. Topuria recently doubled down on his aspirations of
\nbecoming a three-division
\nUFC<\/a> champion. Topuria would love the opportunity to move up for
\na title shot after his upcoming title defense against Gaethje.
\nWhile some believe Topuria will have a size disadvantage at
\nwelterweight, \u201cEl Matador\u201d believes there are no rewards without
\nrisks.<\/p>\n

No Risk, No Champagne<\/h2>\n

\u201cAlways, always. I want to collect a third belt, everyone knows
\nthat,\u201d Topuria told UFC on Paramount+<\/a> . \u201cAnd after this fight, if the
\nUFC wants to give me the opportunity to move up to the welterweight
\ndivision and fight against the current champion, Islam
\nMakhachev<\/a>, I will be very happy. Why not? If you don\u2019t take
\nrisks, there\u2019s no champagne.\u201d<\/p>\n

Topuria was the featherweight champion when he started calling for
\na shot at the lightweight title against then-champion Makhachev.
\nHowever, Makhachev defended the lightweight title four times before
\nmoving up to welterweight, where he dethroned Jack
\nDella Maddalena<\/a> to win the title last year. Meanwhile, Topuria
\ndefended the featherweight title once before moving up to
\nlightweight, where he won the vacant title against Charles
\nOliveira<\/a>. A potential matchup between Topuria (17-0) and
\nMakhachev (28-1) is arguably the most anticipated booking in recent
\nUFC history. Rumors say that Topuria vs. Makhachev for the
\nwelterweight title was originally planned to headline the White
\nHouse card on June 14. While Dana White has denied the rumors, both
\nparties hinted that they had been approached about the
\nbooking. <\/p>\n