Topuria’s Move to Lightweight: What Happened
Ilia Topuria discussed moving to lightweight on a December 2024 appearance on Spain’s El Partidazo de COPE, naming Charles Oliveira as the opponent he wanted and pointing to the difficulty of cutting weight. At the time, he had not formally vacated his featherweight title or settled his plans. MMA Fighting reported his comments from the interview.
On December 12, Topuria clarified that he was not planning to leave the featherweight belt vacant at that point and said no discussions about the move had taken place with the promotion. He later did relinquish the title on February 19, 2025, to pursue a lightweight championship opportunity, according to the promotion’s retrospective. In June 2025, he knocked out Oliveira in the first round to win the vacant lightweight title; see the official scorecards.
Topuria’s lightweight reign ended on June 14, 2026, when Justin Gaethje stopped him by corner stoppage at the end of Round 4 to become undisputed champion, according to the official event results.
Topuria’s public comments came before a decision on his featherweight belt. He later vacated it, won the vacant lightweight title against Oliveira, and eventually lost that reign to Gaethje in 2026. The progression shows why the December 2024 comments are a snapshot of an unsettled plan, not the final account of his career move.
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Tags: MMA
