Dana White reveals reason behind Ilia Topuria’s shock move to vacate UFC title

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Dana White confirmed the shock announcement that Ilia Topuria will vacate his UFC featherweight title before moving up to lightweight – potentially for a blockbuster fight with Islam Makhachev.

The Georgian and Spanish fighter will now move up to the 155-pound limit, leaving former champion Alex Volkanovski and Diego Lopes to fight for the vacant belt at UFC 314 on 12 April.

The stunning announcement from White comes after speculation surrounding Topuria’s future, with the -year-old calling out the widely considered pound-for-pound No.1 last month.

“Islam, if I want to, I can finish you. If I want to, I can knock you out,” Topuria said on social media after the lightweight titleholder’s win at UFC 311 against Renato Moicano. “I’ll make it look easy. See you soon [winks].”

And White detailed the thought process behind the decision and the next steps in a seismic late-night announcement on social media: “Topuria felt like he’s done all that he can in that division and he feels like he cemented his legacy and his body cannot make the weight anymore.

“So Topuria will be moving up to 155 pounds, and will be vacating the featherweight title.

“So the way that this works is as soon as the first punch was thrown in this fight, the title will be vacant and we’ll announce what Topuria’s next fight will be when it gets done.”

Ilia Topuria is set to move up in weight (EPA)

White then revealed a stacked card for UFC 314, including Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes as the main event and Paddy Pimblett challenging Michael Chandler in a co-main event.

Yair Rodriguez battles Patricio Pitbull in a featherweight bout after Geoff Neal and Carlos Prates lock horns in a welterweight contest. Nikita Krylov vs Dominick Reyes, Dan Ige vs Sean Woodson, Yan Xiaonan vs Virna Jandiroba and Jim Miller vs Chase Hooper completes the card.