On Wednesday night, Dana White announced that the Undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion Ilia “El Matador” Topuria is vacating his title. White stated that Topuria felt he had nothing left to prove at 145 pounds and was struggling to make the weight.
Topuria, 28, has had one of the best starts to a career in UFC history. He is 16-0 with 14 finishes in his MMA career while being 8-0 in the promotion. He knocked out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in his first two title fights. Both of them are viewed among the greatest fighters in featherweight history.
El Matador has quickly risen to superstardom, and the next step has been inevitable for quite some time: facing the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev has dominated all challengers in his path and has started to enter conversations as the greatest title holder in division history.
Makhachev and Topuria not only have the potential to be the biggest fight of 2025 but also one of the most significant ever. Topuria has never suffered a defeat in his career, and Makhachev’s lone loss came in 2015. Since then, Makhachev has won 15 fights in a row while finishing eight of his previous nine opponents.
Both fighters share a common opponent, Volkanovski. Makhachev beat him twice, once by unanimous decision and then by knockout. Although this would be a contest between the No. 1 and No. 4 pound-for-pound fighters, an argument can be made that these are the two best currently in the UFC.
Stylistically, this is an incredible matchup between two of the sport’s most well-rounded fighters. Makhachev will have a one-inch reach advantage (70″ vs. 69″) but a three-inch edge in height (5’10” vs. 5’7″). Topuria is a better striker on the feet, landing 2.6 more significant strikes per minute, but Makhachev is 11 percent more accurate. The same is valid on the ground; Makhachev averages 1.18 more takedowns per 15 minutes, but El Matador is successful in 61 percent of his attempts.
Topuria showed against Holloway that he could find success against a bigger opponent. If he can beat Makhachev, Topuria would cement himself as an all-time great. Makhachev will likely be the favorite in this bout if it happens in 2025, but Topuria possesses the finishing ability to beat anyone.
