The promotion’s undisputed featherweight champ, Ilia Topuria, has officially vacated his title and will move up to lightweight in a bid to challenge for the undisputed lightweight title, while the 145-pound division’s former champion is set to fight for his old title once again.
The news of Topuria’s decision was shared by UFC president and CEO Dana White, who explained that the Spanish superstar had opted to move up after accomplishing all of his career goals at 145 pounds and needing to jump up a weight class in order to continue being able to make weight safely.
“Topuria has felt like he’s done all he can in that division, and he feels like he’s cemented his legacy, and his body cannot make the weight anymore,” he said.
“So Topuria will be moving up to 155 pounds and will be vacating the featherweight title.”
White also revealed that the belt won’t remain vacant for long, with former featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski set to face number-three-ranked contender Diego Lopes in the main event of UFC 314.
The event, which is set to take place at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida on April 12, will see Volkanovski look to reclaim his old title against first-time challenger Lopes, who heads into the bout on a five-fight tear.
Brazil’s Lopes took undefeated Movsar Evloev the distance in a losing effort on his short-notice debut at UFC 288, but since then, it’s been all gas, no brakes for the mulleted contender.
Lopes submitted Gavin Tucker in 98 seconds for his first UFC win, then knocked out Pat Sabatini in 90 seconds just three months later as he announced himself as a man to watch in the UFC’s featherweight division.
A TKO finish of Sodiq Yusuff at UFC 300 propelled him towards the division’s top men, where back-to-back decision wins over seasoned contenders Dan Ige and Brian Ortega put him at No. 3 in the UFC’s official featherweight rankings.
Now Lopes gets his shot at a legend, and a world title, as he prepares to face former champion Volkanovski in Miami.
Australia’s Volkanovski will be looking to bounce back into winning form after suffering back-to-back knockout defeats in his last two outings.
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His move up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev saw him push the Russian to the limit in their first fight, but he was knocked out in the rematch. Then, perhaps ill-advisedly, rather than opting to take an extended break to recover, he returned to action four months later and was badly knocked out again, this time by Topuria, who dethroned “Volk” to claim the featherweight title.
Now, with Topuria moving up to lightweight, and with Volkanovski feeling back to his best after more than a year away from the cage, the Aussie hero is ready to return in a bid to reclaim his belt at UFC 314.
