Outside Source
Topuria will put his lightweight title on the line for the first time against interim champion Justin Gaethje in the main event at UFC White House on June 14. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard has always teased a move up to welterweight to fight the champion, Islam Makhachev. Topuria recently doubled down on his aspirations of becoming a three-division UFC champion. Topuria would love the opportunity to move up for a title shot after his upcoming title defense against Gaethje. While some believe Topuria will have a size disadvantage at welterweight, “El Matador” believes there are no rewards without risks.
No Risk, No Champagne
“Always, always. I want to collect a third belt, everyone knows that,” Topuria told UFC on Paramount+ . “And after this fight, if the UFC wants to give me the opportunity to move up to the welterweight division and fight against the current champion, Islam Makhachev, I will be very happy. Why not? If you don’t take risks, there’s no champagne.”
Topuria was the featherweight champion when he started calling for a shot at the lightweight title against then-champion Makhachev. However, Makhachev defended the lightweight title four times before moving up to welterweight, where he dethroned Jack Della Maddalena to win the title last year. Meanwhile, Topuria defended the featherweight title once before moving up to lightweight, where he won the vacant title against Charles Oliveira. A potential matchup between Topuria (17-0) and Makhachev (28-1) is arguably the most anticipated booking in recent UFC history. Rumors say that Topuria vs. Makhachev for the welterweight title was originally planned to headline the White House card on June 14. While Dana White has denied the rumors, both parties hinted that they had been approached about the booking.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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