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Ilia Topura Next Fight
It’s becoming increasingly clear what Ilia Topuria‘s next fight will be in the UFC.
The 28-year-old joined the MMA market-leading firm in 2020 after lighting up regional leagues like Brave CF and Cage Warriors. But it wasn’t until recent years when Topuria put a punctuation mark on his unbeaten run, beat Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira all by knockout, and is now a two-weight UFC champion — and the reigning lightweight ruler.
There are few legitimate crossover superstars in the UFC right now but Topuria, alongside perhaps only Alex Pereira, are two that could give previous box office attractions a run for their money. It is part of the reason Topuria, perhaps, is adamant about challenging Islam Makhachev, as it could catapult his own stardom even further, should he win.
However, a Topuria vs Makhachev fight may not even be next.
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Ilia Topuria’s MMA Career so Far
Topuria has had an incredible MMA career to date. In addition to his record of 17 wins from 17 fights in all promotions, including seven victories by knockout, and eight by submission, Topuria has had nine fights in the UFC alone — and is on the cusp of his 10th.
Topuria debuted in 2015 and scored a first-round submission win over Francisco Javier Asprilla, while he still competed in Spain. He continued to fight within Europe until 2019, when he took the show on the road and fought in Colombia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.
His run of form of late has been incredible because, though the level of competition has increased significantly, he remains a proven fight-finisher regardless of whether he’s applying pressure through his arm-triangle choke, or his striking. But his next fight could well be his toughest.
Ilia Topuria vs Arman Tsarukyan
Following his incredibly dominant win over Dan Hooker atop the UFC Fight Night event in Qatar, there has been a dramatic back-and-forth between Arman Tsarukyan and Topuria. It’s a fight Tsarukyan has been gunning for, for quite some time. However, Topuria has, in the past, expressed reluctance to compete against him. The tide, though, may have turned.
Despite Tsarukyan’s big win, Topuria claims he’d breeze past him with an easily-won victory.
“You know I handle you however I want.”
It did not take long before Tsarukyan responded. “I don’t need to act tough for Twitter, my work is inside the cage,” he said. “If you want to know what a real slap feels like, I’ll be happy to educate you.”
As Tsarukyan is the No.1-challenger to Topuria in the UFC’s own rankings, and with the champion having already beaten the No.2 and No.3-ranked fighters, it appears Topuria’s next fight is likely against Tsarukyan — and may just be a matter of time before UFC announces the bout as part of its 2026 calendar of events on new broadcast partner Paramount+.
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