LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 28: Ilia Topuria of Spain reacts to his win over Charles Oliveira of Brazil in the UFC lightweight championship bout during the UFC 317 event at T-Mobile Arena on June 28, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC) Ilia Topuria is a man with many belts on his mind. The UFC lightweight champion is set to unify the 155 pound belts against interim title holder Justin Gaethje on June 14th at the White House. And after that, he wants to move up to 170 pounds to challenge welterweight champion Islam Makhachev. This wouldn’t be the first time Topuria has jumped up divisions as champion — he won the featherweight belt off Alexander Volkanovski, defended once against Max Holloway, then moved to 155 to take the vacant title against Charles Oliveira. The UFC took his 145 pound belt when he moved up, but according to “El Matador,” that wouldn’t be the case if he moved up to 170 to challenge Makhachev. “They would let me keep it,” Topuria said on the Ariel Helwani Show. “This is a completely different situation than the situation that I had when I was fighting in the featherweight division. I was very honest to them. When I wanted to move up, I was like, ‘Listen, I wanna leave this belt because I’m never gonna come back to the featherweight division, because I really wanna change weight class.'” “But if I will move up to the welterweight division, it’s gonna be different. Because after that fight, I would come back to the lightweight division.” Topuria made it clear that he still wants the Makhachev fight next after beating Gaethje. “My goal as a sportsman is always to achieve great things in the sport,” he said. “So what bigger [thing] can you achieve as a sportsman to collect the third belt? So I would love to defend my belt against Justin and then had the have the opportunity to move up in the welterweight division and get my third belt. That will be my perfect scenario, but who knows?” The Georgian-Spanish sports star isn’t just convinced he can beat the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev. He thinks he can do it on the ground, which is where Makhachev’s strengths shine. topuria on ufc spain: "maybe spain… i don't know, i don't want to talk about it right now" 🥊🇪🇸 (Via: @arielhelwani ) pic.twitter.com/HdefFN7QQc — Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) April 20, 2026 “When I get the opportunity to fight with with someone, I always think about what can I do to really shock the world? So with Islam, to shock the world, I have to submit him. So this is what I think is gonna happen. I’m gonna take him down, and I’m gonna submit him.” Topuria is aware of how cocky that sounds. “I know that inside yourself, maybe it sounds a little bit weird, like strange,” he said. “‘How are you gonna take him down, how are you gonna submit him?’ But don’t be surprised when you are gonna see that happen … He’s good, everyone is good, Justin [Gaethje] is good. Alex [Volkanovski] is good. Charles [Oliveira] is good. Max [Holloway] is good.” “Everyone is good, but I’m different.”