- UFC. Peace in London: Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett bury the hatchet
- UFC. Sean Brady, the UFC villain in London: "I'm the biggest threat in the division"
It is clear that today, Ilia Topuria (16-0) does not need to fight to be in the spotlight. 'El Matador' is one of the UFC's great superstars and any message he sends quickly goes viral. It happened last night, for example, during UFC London... where he was present to watch the event and be part of the brutal corner that Guram Kutateladze (13-5) had
Even present at the O2 Arena, the Spanish-Georgian champion (he will be until the Diego Lopes vs Volkanovski fight at UFC 314) tweeted to Charles Oliveira, who had declared hours earlier that a fight with Topuria was not "a great fight" for him.
"Charles, you'd better not say anything. You have 10 losses: 5 by knockout, 4 by submission and 1 by decision. You are the contender, while I am the champion, the father of the whole division. I have not come to ask for anything. Here, I am the one in charge," Topuria wrote.
Charles, better not to say anything. You have 10 defeats: five by knockout, four by submission and one by decision
Topuria's future, meanwhile, remains up in the air: what will be his first fight? If there is one thing that is clear, it is that he has already made himself available, and the UFC has welcomed him with open arms. He wants to fight Islam Makhachev (27-1) to be a double champion... the same desire that Charles Oliveira has to regain his throne.
It is Islam who is 'blocking' the division, waiting to know what will happen at UFC 315 between Muhammad and Della Maddalena to know if he moves up in weight class
The UFC, meanwhile, sends a 'veiled message' to everyone... making it clear how highly they regard Ilia Topuria: at the ceremonial weigh-in, the 'Matador' accompanied Dana White and Hunter Campbell. This is something unusual in the UFC with other champions.