Ilia Topuria apparently won’t be out for long.
In November, Topuria announced he would be taking a step back from MMA to focus on ongoing issues in his personal life. As a result, the UFC booked Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett to fight for an interim lightweight title in the main event of UFC 324 next week. And while the hope has always been that Topuria would return later this year to unify the belts, “El Matador” has now confirmed that’s exactly his plan.
On Friday, Topuria went on social media to declare that he intends to win Knockout of the Year honors in 2026, a curious claim for a man currently without a timetable to return. But, “El Matador” quickly revealed that he is targeting a return for the spring, where he intends to defend his belt against the interim lightweight champion.
“April-June,” Topuria said in the comments. “The winner between Paddy and Justin”
Should it take place, that timeline would perfectly align with UFC White House, which goes down in June. Topuria has already declared his interest in competing at the event, so that could make sense for his return. Of course, Topuria would most like to fight welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, a fight he’s pursued for over a year, and if that somehow were to be available, Topuria also made it clear he likes his chances in the matchup.
“Not even in his dreams,” Topuria said to a comment saying Makhachev would submit him. “He’s bad even at dreaming.”
Unfortunately, the forgotten man in all of this is top lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan. Tsarukyan arguably has the best claim to a lightweight title shot of anyone, but does not appear to be close to getting it, and Topuria summed up his thoughts on Tsarukyan with one word.
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