Ilia Topuria, UFC featherweight champion and one of MMA’s biggest stars, told it The Partidazo de COPE that he likely fought his last fight at 145 pounds and that he plans to move up to lightweight for his next fight.

Topuria wants to face No. 1 contender Charles Oliveira in April or May, then set up a fight with the winner of Islam Makhachev and Arman Tsarukyan later in 2025.

Here’s a look at the clip, which is in Spanish, with the English directly below.

This decision is likely to send shockwaves through the UFC’s featherweight and lightweight divisions. Topuria appears to be on track to vacate the featherweight title, which could lead to a clash between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes for the vacant championship.

In the lightweight division, all paths to the title still lead through Islam Makhachev. However, Topuria will likely overtake several contenders and position herself for title contention sooner rather than later.

After losing to Topuria by knockout at UFC 308 in October, Max Holloway announced he would be moving up to lightweight permanently. Now Topuria appears to be following him to the 155-pound class.

Given the outcome of their first meeting, this development casts doubt on Holloway’s potential to secure a lightweight title. The same skepticism also applies to long-time competitors and former champions like Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.

It will be interesting to hear UFC President Dana White’s thoughts on Topuria’s decision and see how the promotion navigates the future of these two weight classes.

More UFC news: Bryan Battle talks weight mistake at UFC 310

Bryan Battle lost four pounds in weight ahead of his fight with Randy Brown at UFC 310. Despite the setback, Battle won a split decision but was booed by fans at T-Mobile Arena after the fight.

Published on The Ariel Helwani Show On Monday, Battle discussed the weight cut and what went wrong.

“So, yeah, no, it was a ##### weight cut,” Battle admitted. “I won’t lie to you.”

Helwani inquired as Battle realized he would not be gaining weight, noting the importance of communicating with opponents in a timely manner to potentially save them the trouble of losing weight unnecessarily.

Battle replied: “It was…yeah, because I saw him make a post. It was the morning of the weigh-in. I sent a message to my agent that morning – that’s when I stopped sweating. Usually, as long as I’m sweating, I just sit in the sauna or hot tub or whatever and let the sweat flow until I get there. But when I sit in the sauna or hot bath for 45 minutes to an hour and don’t sweat – and knowing how I normally sweat – I start to have concerns. So, you know, when I was in the hot bath for 45 minutes, I said to Shemiga, “Yo, hit her.” And I have to be honest, at that point I thought I had screwed everything up. I didn’t think the fight would happen. I thought, ‘I really screwed this up.'”

Here’s a look at the clip.

Bandy Rown could have chosen not to continue the fight, but he did and almost secured the victory. Bryan Battle admitted he wouldn’t have accepted the fight if the roles had been reversed.

As compensation, Brown receives 30% of Battle’s purse. However, that’s probably no consolation at this stage of Brown’s career.