For several months now, fans have been questioning whether Ilia Topuria will be in action at UFC 317.
There are currently no title fights announced for the Octagon’s return to the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June 28.
Due to the ongoing saga between Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall, alongside the recent update regarding Dricus du Plessis’s planned timeframe, Topuria was the name that looked most likely for International Fight Week regardless of the opponent.
Topuria vacated his featherweight belt to move up to the lightweight division earlier this year but with no confirmation of Islam Makhachev’s next move, ‘La Leyenda’ had previously stated that he’d be happy to wait for a title fight.
The undefeated star has now dropped a major announcement about when he will step back inside the Octagon as he looks to make an immediate impact at 155-pounds.
Ilia Topuria confirms that he will be fighting at UFC 317 on June 28
Ilia Topuria teased a fight announcement last month after suggesting on social media that his training camp is already underway.
There has been plenty of speculation regarding who he could be facing but given the timeframe, it seemed likely that this would mean he’d be competing at International Fight Week.
Now, he has confirmed that UFC 317 on June 28 is the date that he’s working towards which would currently give him another 8 weeks to prepare.
As reported by Chisanga Malata, ‘La Leyenda’ appeared on Telemadrid where he said the following statement to solidify what many have been theorizing for some time.
“I have my preparations ahead of me. I hope to make you all happy again on June 28th”
Topuria didn’t say who his opponent will be and we still don’t know whether Islam Makhachev will be staying at lightweight or moving up a weight class to try and accomplish his goal of winning another title.
There has been some rumors that the 155-pound champion is waiting until after the main event of UFC 315, where the welterweight title will be defended, before making his next move though this was shot down by Makhachev’s team.
A recent image caused further speculation after the UFC’s Hunter Campbell was seen with Khabib Nurmagomedov, prompting the question as to whether their topic of discussion could be Makhachev’s next move.
Who Ilia Topuria fight next if Islam Makhachev isn’t his next opponent
Along with wanting to challenge himself at welterweight, there are other reasons why Islam Makhachev wouldn’t be interested in fighting Ilia Topuria.
Not only does the lightweight champion already hold two wins over Alexander Volkanovski when the featherweight champion moved up, Topuria is yet to prove himself at 155-pounds.
In the case that Makhachev isn’t next, ‘La Leyenda’ will likely be facing a top lightweight contender with the likes of Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan all fitting the bill.
It isn’t yet known who will be standing across the Octagon from the undefeated star on June 28 and whether there will be some form of UFC gold on the line but this update will only make fans more eager for an official announcement in the coming weeks.