Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” covering the UFC London main event, Jon Jones’ latest drama in the Tom Aspinall saga, and more.
The time for overreacting is here!
Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie reporter Farah Hannoun debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:
00:45 – UFC London: [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] was overrated this whole time.
04:55 – Leon Edwards’ next fight should ABSOLUTELY be against [autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag].
09:43 – UFC London: [autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag] reestablished himself as a legitimate welterweight title contender.
16:01 – [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] needing 6 more months to fight [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] is PREPOSTEROUS.
19:06 – If not a title shot, [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]’s first lightweight opponent should be [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag].
It turns out Ilia Topuria is changing more than just his weight class.
It turns out [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] is changing more than just his weight class. He’s also changing his nickname.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who vacated the UFC featherweight championship for a move up to 155 pounds, will debut in the division with a new nickname, according to Mundo Deportivo. Topuria previously teased a new identity and will now go from being “El Matador” to “La Leyenda,” which translates to “The Legend.”
“‘El Matador’ is something that has been with me throughout my career, throughout my rise, and it’s something that has led me to the new nickname, because a lot of people … it’s like I always say: You need to believe,” Topuria said in Spanish during a press conference. “You need to see to believe. I believe it first, and then I see it. So the nickname that will accompany me in my next fights is going to be ‘La Leyenda.'”
Ilia Topuria is switching fight name from “El Matador” to “La Leyenda” (The Legend).
He’s making the switch to signal a “new era” in his career as he moves up to 155 pounds. pic.twitter.com/Bkl5wf2cOW
The unbeaten UFC star is coming off back-to-back knockouts of featherweight greats Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, which earned him MMA Junkie Fighter of the Year honors in 2024. By Topuria relinquishing his 145-pound title, Volkanovski will face Diego Lopes for the vacant belt in the UFC 314 headliner April 12 in Miami.
Topuria is eyeing an immediate shot at the UFC lightweight title, but champion Islam Makhachev and his team believe Topuria needs to earn his way to an opportunity by beating a top contender.
Kamaru Usman’s opinion on who Ilia Topuria should fight next may not be a popular one.
[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag]’s opinion on who [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] should fight next may not be a popular one.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) vacated his featherweight title for a move up to 155 pounds. “El Matador” is eyeing UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev right off the bat, but Usman would like to see him tested against an elite grappler first.
He initially suggested lightweight contender Dan Hooker, but quickly changed his tune and picked [autotag]Mateusz Gamrot[/autotag] (24-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC).
“Ilia Topuria, Mateusz Gamrot,” Usman said on “Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry.” “Hey, hey, hey, hey. The one thing we really don’t see often is Ilia Topuria on his back, now give him a relentless wrestler who is very successful in that lightweight division. I know a lot of people don’t talk about him because the style is not so fan friendly, but this guy can make a run at that title. You saw his fight vs. Arman, that was back-and-forth.”
As for the rest of the lightweight division, Usman played matchmaker.
“If I had to put my bracket together, I would have to say Islam is fighting Justin (Gaethje),” Usman said. “And after that, if you want to give a fantastic fight for Dustin Poirier, the retirement fight, why don’t we do the third one with Max Holloway? And then, I would do Arman Tsarukyan vs. Charles Oliveira, and then I would probably do the winner of Chandler vs. Pimblett against Dan Hooker. I would do that.”
Paddy Pimblett feels a fight against Ilia Topuria could headline a UFC pay-per-view without a championship belt on the line.
LONDON – A fight between [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] and [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] might’ve seemed improbable just a few months ago, but things are much different now.
In February, to the surprise of many, it was announced Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) would be vacating the UFC featherweight title to make a full-time move to the lightweight division. The Spanish star is looking to secure an immediate title shot vs. champion Islam Makhachev, but Pimblett is among the group who thinks he first needs to beat a top 155-pound contender.
If there’s any suitable candidate to be that opponent, Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) said it’s him, should he get past Michael Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) at UFC 314 on April 12 in Miami (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN/Disney+, ESPN+)
“He needs to beat someone at ’55 first, the little Chorizo,” Pimblett said at a UFC fan Q&A prior to Friday’s UFC Fight Night 255 weigh-ins at The O2. “I would do the exact same thing I’m going to do to Michael Chandler. Kick him in the face or submit him. He’s a midget, lad. He’s tiny.”
The Topuria vs. Pimblett rivalry started in 2022 after Topuria took issue with Pimblett making fun of the Russo-Georgian War of 2008 – comments which Pimblett later apologized for. Not long after that, the pair had an altercation at a UFC host hotel in England, where Pimblett threw a hand sanitizer bottle at Topuria after being confronted. The two were separated by security.
Given the growth in popularity of both fighters since their run-in, Pimblett believes a fight against Topuria could easily headline a UFC pay-per-view event with no belt on the line. Only select fights have met the criteria to carry a show without an undisputed, interim or BMF belt, but Pimblett argues the ingredients are all there.
“I’ve been saying it for years, I would love to fight him,” Pimblett said. “Now that he’s moved up to ’55 it’s a real possibility. It looks like he’s sitting out just waiting for Islam, but I personally think I should be the one to welcome him to the lightweight division.
“It’s got a built-in storyline. It wouldn’t need a title on that pay-per-view. Me and him just could just headline the pay-per-view. You wouldn’t need any other fight. It would sell itself. It wouldn’t need any hype, because I’ve already bounced something off his head.”
Alexander Volkanovski has no issues with Ilia Topuria meeting Islam Makhachev in his first UFC fight at lightweight.
[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] has no issues with [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] getting an immediate UFC lightweight title shot.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) is vacating his featherweight championship after back-to-back knockouts of Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Volkanovski was awaiting his rematch with Topuria, but those plans were derailed after “El Matador” moved divisions.
But because Topuria won’t be holding up any divisions, Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) approves of the idea of him getting a shot at UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] right off the bat.
“Put it this way: If he was trying to hang on to both belts, I don’t think that was going to happen,” Volkanovski said on the “Believe You Me” podcast. “The fact that he’s vacated and the lightweight division’s in a position where, I don’t know, there’s no real clear No. 1, I think it’s fair.
“The fact that he vacated, I think that that’s fair. If he wanted to hang on and do the double champ thing, I think he needed to do more work. But the fact that he’s like, ‘Look, I’m going to let this one go, let that division move on. I want to commit to lightweight.’ I think that’s big. I think that’s fair, so I think he sort of deserves it.”
With Topuria relinquishing his featherweight title, Volkanovski will take on Diego Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) for the vacant belt in the UFC 314 main event (ESPN+ pay-per-view) April 12 at Kaseya Center from Miami.
Volkanovski breaks down Makhachev vs. Topuria
If Topuria does end up getting the Makhachev fight, Volkanovski won’t entirely rule out his chances. The former champion suffered knockout losses to both Topuria and Makhachev but has a hard time seeing Makhachev lose.
“How do I think that fight’s going to go? I have fought both of them,” Volkanovski said. “Islam is going to be a hard man to beat for anyone. I think the only chance of him losing is someone knocking him out. Like, someone landing something, that’s what I believe. I’ve always believed that about myself. The only way I would lose is someone catching me rather than actually beating me. The only person that I believe will give me that close fight is Islam, and I feel the same for Islam with a lot of opposition. I think everyone has a puncher’s chance, and I think that’s the only way I see him really losing, someone catching him. And if anyone can do it, it is Ilia.
“Ilia’s obviously got some dangerous hands, so for people to just count him out, you know he’s got power in his hands. You know he’s going to be looking for it. You know he’s composed and even if things aren’t going his way, he’s going to keep looking for it, keep trying to find it until he does or until he loses. So, you know he’s dangerous. Maybe if the gas tank goes, we’ll see when he starts them later rounds with someone like Islam, but early on the first couple or first three rounds, he’s going to be dangerous. You don’t want to be getting caught by any of those punches. So, if anyone can catch him, I think Ilia’s right up there for a chance.”
Chael Sonnen doesn’t think it’s fair to put UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in the same predicament again.
[autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] refuses to believe that UFC champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] is avoiding [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].
Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) previously said he wasn’t interested in defending his lightweight title against another featherweight in Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who is vacating his belt for a move up to 155 pounds.
Makhachev’s manager also said he’d like to see Topuria earn his shot at the title by fighting a top contender. But considering two of Makhachev’s four title defenses came against ex-featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, Sonnen says it isn’t fair to put him in that predicament again.
“My first sense is that’s fake news, and it’s a real insult to Islam,” Sonnen said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Daniel Cormier. “I don’t believe that Islam’s scared to fight anybody. I think the evidence of that fact would be the fact that he switched opponents and took on ‘Money’ Moicano with no training camp, no preparation, just because it’s the right thing to do, and made sure that the golden rule was followed, which is the show must go forward.
“I don’t believe it to be any more than a rumor. I also think it’s a little bit insulting to be the one to have to ask Islam, ‘Will you fight a ’45 pounder’ considering that would make the third ’45 pounder that Islam was forced to face. And the only thing Islam has ever told us is that he himself would like to change weights. So, if he himself is not allowed to do the one thing that they’re asking him to do three times over, I’m light on that. I don’t think it happens.”
Cormier, a longtime training partner of Makhachev’s, agrees with Sonnen.
“Fighting Alexander Volkanovski, who at the time was No. 1 pound-for-pound – you remember when their first fight happened? It was whoever wins will be considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” Cormier said. “Because Islam is (No.) 2, Alex was 1.
“Islam beats him, but it was very close, and then we had this weird (moment) where Alex and Islam were No. 1 pound-for-pound. For a while it was like two No. 1s and Islam was like, ‘Wait, give me what you said I was going to get,’ and then the world then said, ‘Why do you want that? You beat a ’45 pounder.'”
Former UFC champion Charles Oliveira isn’t sure how he fits into the suddenly crowded top of the 155-pound division, but he knows what he wants.
Former UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] isn’t sure how he fits into the suddenly crowded top of the 155-pound division, but he knows he wants his next fight to be for a title belt.
“The division is very complicated,” Oliveira said in an interview with online sportsbook Oddspedia. “I think I deserve to be next in line, but I work for Zuffa. There is talk about Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, Ilia Topuria. I’m just waiting on the call. I don’t know who is next. There is talk, but I just don’t know.”
The possibilities seem endless coming out of last week’s UFC 313 where [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] defeated Rafael Fiziev in another barnburner between the two. Afterward, Gaethje made his case for a shot at [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag], especially since he represents the only fresh matchup of the top three fighters officially ranked behind the reigning UFC champion. [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag], No.1, and No. 2 Oliveira have both been beaten by Makhachev before, although Tsarukyan lost out on his chance at a rematch in January by withdrawing from their UFC 311 title fight. No. 3 Gaethje is certainly also under consideration, but there’s a potential X-factor in [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag], who is vacating his featherweight title for a move to lightweight.
If Topuria doesn’t get an immediate title shot at 155 pounds, Oliveira wouldn’t mind welcoming him to the division.
“Whoever I get told to fight, I’m going to fight,” Oliveira said. “I have nothing but respect for Ilia Topuria, but this is lightweight. It’s the most difficult division you have ever seen, and I have power in my hands. I believe in my jiu-jitsu, but I believe that I could knock Illa Topuria out.”
A fight with Topuria, however, wouldn’t be for a UFC belt. And if it’s not a title-fight rematch with Makhachev that comes next, Oliveira prefers to run it back with Max Holloway for his BMF title belt.
“A fight against Max Holloway would be huge, and I’m confident that it would be me with my arm raised,” Oliveira said. “The first time we fought I had an injury that stopped me performing. We are both aggressive fighters, and I believe in the power in my hands, as well as my BJJ. There would be a lot of hype around the fight.
“I would be chasing the knockout, and the BMF means the toughest guy in the division, right? I want to show that I’m the toughest guy in the
division. When we speak about legacy, we speak about being the champion, but BMF is about being the toughest guy, and that’s what I consider myself to be in this division. I believe that I have shown that, and having the BMF belt is the only thing that is missing.”
Oliveira, who’s coming off an entertaining win over Michael Chandler last November, remains unclear as to what his future holds. But as long as he fights for a belt next, he’ll be happy.
“I want to fight for a title either way,” Oliveira said. “Now I’m just sitting waiting for the call.”
Michael Bisping thinks Ilia Topuria will get his wish to fight UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] will get his wish to fight UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag].
Although Makhachev doesn’t like the idea of fighting another featherweight, Bisping thinks it would be silly for the UFC to risk jeopardizing a big fight between Makhachev and Topuria.
“Realistically, there’s a ton of options for Ilia Topuria, but the reality is, Islam Makhachev has got to fight somebody soon, and so does Ilia Topuria,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Justin Gaethje wants to fight for the belt, but Justin Gaethje really doesn’t give a sh*t right now. I think Justin Gaethje is happy making the phenomenal amount of money that he is and just going out there and being able to be himself.
“So realistically, any of those guys that I just mentioned: Islam, Arman, Charles, Justin, any single one of them. And it might be one of them. But it’s probably going to be, if you asked me to bet, I think Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria. Any of those guys – Arman, Charles, Justin – sure, they’d all be phenomenal fights and they’d all have a realistic chance of potentially beating Ilia Topuria.”
Bisping sees Makhachev vs. Topuria as one of the biggest fights the UFC could make.
“Granted, Ilia is special, but if he lost to them, there’s a massive market opportunity lost there, because Ilia vs. Islam – Ilia with the rise, Ilia still being in a lot of people’s minds the featherweight champion against the lightweight champion – there’s something there,” Bisping said. “If he loses to Gaethje, but then two or three fights later gets a shot, it’s not quite the same sell.
“The public wouldn’t be quite still as invested. So I think they’re going to give him the title fight. I think Islam is going to take it. Granted, he wants a shot at becoming a two-weight champion, but he’s going to have to wait for a while because of Belal (Muhammad). So in the meantime, you take out Ilia Topuria, which would be an absolutely blockbuster fight.”
Beneil Dariush approves of Ilia Topuria getting an immediate title shot at lightweight.
[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] approves of [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] getting an immediate title shot at lightweight.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) vacated his UFC featherweight belt after admitting that the weight cut was too strenuous on him. “El Matador” is eyeing a title fight against lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag].
Despite only defending his title once with a knockout of Max Holloway at UFC 308, Dariush (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6 UFC) doesn’t see anyone else in the lightweight title picture as more worthy at the moment.
“You can’t really disagree with it,” Dariush told MMA Junkie. “Because he became champion, he defended his belt, and he’s just like, ‘Hey, I’m too big. I don’t want to make this weight cut anymore, so I want to fight ’55.’ I wouldn’t be against him fighting for 155, especially since the UFC said they’re not going to allow Arman (Tsarukyan) to have his fight for the title.
“So, if Arman’s not getting the title shot, Charles Oliveira – I understand he’s supposed to be the No. 1 contender, but I would say Ilia’s credentials are better at this moment. He’s riding quite the win streak so, I definitely wouldn’t be like, ‘Oh, this is a mistake. They shouldn’t have this fight.'”
“I think the situation is this, I don’t think Makhachev really wants to fight another ’45’er,” Dariush continued. “He fought (Alexander) Volkanovski because he wanted to be pound-for-pound champion because at that time, Volkanovski was. He beat Volkanovski so he’s kind of over that I would say.
“He doesn’t really want to fight another 145’er. But, the difference now is Ilia is moving up and he’s an actual ’55’er. He’s not going back down to 145. All it requires is for Makhachev to agree. If Makhachev agrees to fight him, I think the fight happens
UFC champion Ilia Topuria’s manager provided insight on his move up to lightweight.
[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]’s manager provided insight on his move up to lightweight.
After back-to-back knockouts of Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) vacated his UFC featherweight title for a move up to 155 pounds.
With a Volkanovski rematch on the table, as well as top contenders Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev waiting for their featherweight shots, many questioned Topuria’s move. His manager, Malki Kawa, revealed that the weight cut was a big reason.
“The truth is that the weight cut is hard for him,” Kawa said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Look, when you’ve been in this business for as long as we’ve been in it, you kind of learn certain things. And the longevity of fighters, especially at the highest level, when you talk about being a champion, you’re talking about a guy who has to fight the Volkanovskis, the Charles (Oliveira), the Islams (Makhachev), the Max (Holloways).
“You’re talking about fighting the best guys in the world. If you’re cutting all that weight, what you’re basically also doing is taking years off your fighting life. So this guy is looking at longevity. He’s looking at the fact that it’s almost a 50-pound cut every time. It’s time to move up to 155. I’m confident that Islam will accept it. I’m confident that we’ll be fighting for that belt, but it’s really not on us. It’s on them.”
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is not interested in facing another 145-pounder in Topuria after two of his four title defenses came over ex-featherweight champ Volkanovski. “El Matador” recently teased news that would catch everyone off guard.
“When we announce it, you won’t believe it. Get ready.”
When we announce it, you won’t believe it. Get ready.
.”
small guys is always great idea 
