Ilia Topuria vacates the UFC belt in the featherweight division and will move up to the lightweight category. Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes will face each other in a championship fight at UFC 314.
Ilya Topuria will not defend his UFC featherweight division championship belt. The undefeated champion has decided to vacate the title and move up a category. Dana White president of the UFC organization confirmed the news in a special announcement.
– Topuria stated that he has done everything possible in this weight category. His body can no longer tolerate making weight to the 66 kilogram limit. Therefore, Ilya Topuria will vacate the championship belt and move to the lightweight division. As soon as the first blow falls in the Volkanovski vs Lopes fight, then Topuria will no longer be the champion. We will announce Ilia’s next fight as we finalize all contractual details.
Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes will meet in the fight of the evening at UFC 314 in Miami. At stake in the Volkanovski vs Lopes bout will be the vacant featherweight division championship belt. Thus, the former champion has been given another chance to return to the throne while Diego Lopes will face a chance to claim the title for the first time.
Alexander Volkanovski is a living legend of the featherweight category. The 36-year-old Australian has fought all of the division’s top names, and has twice tried his hand against Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champion. The popular Volk lost three of his last four fights, so the fact that he was handed a chance at a title clash out of the blue may seem like a surprise, but it’s worth remembering that two of the defeats took place in a higher category.
Diego Lopes will enter the octagon with a series of five wins in a row. The excellent fighter has impressed with great performances in 2024. Lopes has passed two major tests defeating tough veteran Dan Ige and former belt contender Brian Ortega. Now the Brazilian faces the biggest challenge of his career so far, and if he wins, he will record his greatest success.
The Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes fight will take place on April 12 at UFC 314 in Miami. The duel for the vacant featherweight division belt will be the evening fight of the Florida event.
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