A Lightweight “super” fight is really happening in “Sin City?!?!?”
For weeks, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, has been shown the cold shoulder by Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev’s team, denying him an automatic Lightweight title shot.
Nevertheless, Topuria today (Tues., April 22, 2025) shared on social media that he has started fight camp:
“The camp has begun,” Topuria wrote.
Minutes later, Spanish reporter Alvaro Colmenero — who has historically been a reliable source — shared that Topuria will compete at UFC 317 (a.k.a. International Fight Week), and it will be for a title.
Topuria’s huge gamble of vacating (or stripping) his Featherweight crown seems to have paid off, which is fantastic because a fight against Makhachev is massive. And, not for nothing, it’s probably among the best fights UFC can book.
“La Leyenda” is coming off savage back-to-back knockout wins over Alexander Volkanovski (watch it) and Max Holloway (highlights). At the same time, Makhachev has finished his last three opponents and will be looking for his fifth Lightweight title defense.
With a win, Topuria would become the tenth double champion in UFC history (check out the rest of the list here). UFC 317 is set to go down on Sat., June 28, 2025, inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
To checkout UFC’s upcoming schedule of events click here.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
