ILIA TOPURIA has revealed the UFC brass asked him to make a “promise” about his next fight in the aftermath of his coronation as the new king of the sport.
‘El Matador’ became the face of mixed martial arts premier promotion late last month with a stunning first-round knockout of fan favourite Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317.
REUTERSIlia Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to claim the vacant lightweight title[/caption]
SHUTTERSTOCKThe Georgian-born Spaniard became the tenth two-weight champion in UFC history[/caption]
SHUTTERSTOCKTopuria has ambitions of becoming the first three-weight champion in UFC history[/caption]
His blistering beatdown of ‘Do Bronx’ saw him claim the vacant lightweight title and become the tenth two-division champion in UFC history.
The Georgian-born Spaniard has ambitions of becoming the UFC‘s first THREE-WEIGHT champion, although the promotion aren’t keen on him making history just yet.
During an appearance on the About Last Fight Podcast, the 28-year-old admitted: “I thought about [moving up].
“But the last conversation I had with the UFC [and] they personally asked me the favour.
“Like, ‘Don’t tell us after the fight that you want to move to the welterweight division. Make us a promise.’
“I was like ‘promise.’ I was [crossing my fingers]. I promise.”
Topuria has plenty of work left at lightweight before he can contemplate moving up another division.
A grudge match with Brit Paddy Pimblett is in the offing after the pair’s near melee in the cage late last month.
GETTYIlia Topuria is hoping a grudge match with Brit Paddy Pimblett will be his next fight[/caption]
UFC supremo Dana White may not be keen on booking the barnburner, but Topuria is hellbent on settling his five-year-long feud with ‘The Baddy’.
He said: “Yes, that’s the fight I want.
“With Charles, I had a bit of a difficult situation because I really like the guy.
“He’s a really great human being, you can’t hate him. But with Paddy, I’m really going to enjoy kicking his a**.”
He later added: “That’s the guy that I will really enjoy to punch him in the face.
“Really, really will enjoy that fight. I know I can do with him whatever I to do.
“Tell me, kid, what you want me to do with you. I’m going to do whatever I want to do. I don’t want to use my words.”
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