Ilia Topuria appears to have real trust in his relationship with the UFC brass, and because of that, has the utmost confidence his next fight will be for the lightweight championship. Topuria (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) will officially vacate the featherweight title in less than two weeks when he Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes battle to become new champ at UFC 314 in Miami on April 12. When that fight begins, Topuria will no longer hold gold at 145 pounds, and his move up to 155 pounds will become official. Since Topuria announced in February that he was going to be giving up the strap , there has been rampant speculation and discussion about whether he would challenge for the belt right away.
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Ilia Topuria says UFC promised lightweight title shot after vacating belt – MMA Junkie