Matt Serra thinks Ilia Topuria is leaving things undone in the UFC featherweight division.
Last month, UFC Champion Ilia Topuria surprisingly relinquished his featherweight title, setting his sights on the stacked weight class above: lightweight.
There are many fun fights to be had for Spain’s Topuria at 155lbs such as the champion Islam Makhachev or top contenders Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
The featherweight division behind him, some pundits believe Topuria might be jumping the gun with his decision considering what fights were still available for him at 145lbs after knocking out former champions Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway.
Matt Serra calls Ilia Topuria’s lightweight move ‘premature’
From a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski to new fights with Diego Lopes and the undefeated Movsar Evloev, who plans to chase down Topuria, former UFC Welterweight Champion and Georges St-Pierre slayer Matt Serra would have liked to have seen the ‘savage’ Topuria clean out the weight class first.
“I think it’s gonna be interesting to see him at 155,” Serra said on The Overdogs Podcast.
“I would’ve liked to seen him at 145 a little bit more. I feel like he had some big wins obviously with [Alexander] Volkanowski and Max Holloway, but I think it might be a little premature to go up.
“Not that he couldn’t [win the lightweight title], I’m sure he could do it, but why not be a savage and clear out that division even more?” Serra continued.
Matt Serra says there’s ‘dangerous’ fights for Ilia Topuria at featherweight
“You got Diego Lopes, you got other guys down there that are dangerous. I would’ve liked to seen him fight there a little more,” Serra concluded.
#3-ranked Diego Lopes, 5-1 in the UFC, is next up to challenge for the vacant title across from Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314. Volkanovski himself has only lost once at 145lbs, at the hands of Topuria.
Right below Lopes in the rankings is the 19-0 Movsar Evloev, who actually beat Lopes in his UFC debut in 2023.
Evloev had wanted a battle of the undefeated against Topuria, however, like for the rest of the featherweight contenders, a fight with the 16-0 champion is no longer on the table.