“They were very clear with us when they said they are no longer allowing fighters to jump between weight classes,” said Diego Lopes, suggesting that the UFC may have forced Ilia Topuria to vacate his featherweight title to move up to the lightweight division. Rumors spread like wildfire as Dana White faced tough questions from fans regarding the new double-champ policy. But what’s the reality? Was Topuria forced to vacate, or did he relinquish the title on his own? Dana White has now addressed both this question and the ongoing double-champ controversy.
While having a conversation with the media at the UFC Seattle post-fight press conference, the UFC CEO was grilled by the reporters on questions about a potential matchup between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev, to which Dana White asserted that it is still indecisive and there are other possibilities to it as well, “There’s still other possibilities, so there’s a lot of stuff going on right now.”
When asked whether the promotion had forced Ilia Topuria to vacate his title, White asserted that it was rather the opposite as ‘El Matador’ himself called upon the higher authorities to relinquish his title, “He did that. He said, “I’ve done everything I can do here. I’m ready to move up,” and he vacated it. He said, ‘I shouldn’t be holding up anybody’s opportunities.’ I always respect when guys do that.”
In response to questions about the new double champ policy, White asserted that the UFC has not implemented such a rule. However, he emphasized that for any champion to pursue double champ status, they would need to defend their title multiple times. “Unless you think you can defend the belt—listen, if there’s a guy that thinks he can do it and wants to defend both belts, accomplish all these great things, I would have no problem with it.”
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