UFC roundup: Ilia Topuria preparing for return with ‘camp has begun’ tease
Four simple words injected some life into the UFC fan base this week when unbeaten Ilia Topuria teased “the camp has begun” on social media.
Four simple words injected some life into the UFC fan base this week when unbeaten Ilia Topuria teased “the camp has begun” on social media.
The 16-0 Spanish-Georgian mixed martial arts star, who’s currently preparing for a lightweight contest after vacating the featherweight title earlier this year, explained last week during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast that he typically starts his training camps 12 weeks out from a fight.
That timeline would put Topuria on track to compete in the summer, however, it doesn’t appear he has a specific opponent lined up at this time.
International Fight Week takes place in early summer with UFC 317 scheduled for June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. While it wouldn’t be enough time for Topuria to complete a full 12-week camp, he is the type of talent to warrant a top spot on the prominent fight card.
Topuria also mentioned in his interview with Rogan that he isn’t interested in any non-title matchups, yet at the same time, reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and his team have said they are not interested in facing Topuria since half of Makhachev’s title defences have already been against a featherweight champion and not a natural lightweight.
For the moment, there are essentially two lines of thinking when it comes to what could be next for Topuria, and some of it could depend on the outcome of UFC 315’s main event between welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and challenger Jack Della Maddalena.
If Della Maddalena were to become the new champ, then Makhachev, who has previously expressed an interest in attaining a second title in a different weight class, could move up to the 170-pound division to challenge for the welterweight title. In that case, he would likely vacate the lightweight title, which would free up Topuria to compete for a vacant belt against a top lightweight contender such as former champion Charles Oliveira or someone else the UFC would want to promote in a championship matchup.
Muhammad has stated he’s not interested in facing Makhachev since the two are friendly and have trained together in the past, so if Muhammad defends the championship in Montreal on May 10, then a Makhachev vs. Topuria super fight could be on the table.
Makhachev is 27-1 with 15 consecutive victories and is the No. 1-ranked fighter on the UFC’s pound-for-pound list. Topuria sits No. 3 on the P4P list after back-to-back knockout wins over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in 2024.
The UFC has not yet announced any matchups for International Fight Week.
In other UFC news…
UFC Baku adds two quality matchups: A heavyweight contest between No. 5-ranked Curtis “Razor” Blaydes and UFC newcomer Rizvan Kuniev has been rescheduled for the UFC’s debut event in Azerbaijan later this year. The pair were set to meet at UFC 313 in March before the matchup was cancelled on the day of the fight after Blaydes fell ill.
Blaydes, 34, hasn’t fought since losing to interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall at UFC 304 last summer. Kuniev, who has failed drug tests and been suspended for cheating by using anabolic steroids, earned a UFC contract by winning a fight on Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) last summer. The UFC signed Kuniev despite his recorded drug violations.
This UFC Baku card will also feature the anticipated return of RIZIN champ Kyoji Horiguchi, who’ll meet Tagir Ulanbekov in flyweight action. The Japanese star announced roughly one month ago he’d be vacating his RIZIN flyweight title and re-signing with the UFC. The 34-year-old is a former one-time Bellator MMA bantamweight champion, is unbeaten since 2022 and has not lost whilst competing at flyweight since a 2015 UFC title fight against Demetrious Johson at UFC 186.
Ulanbekov, meanwhile, has won three in a row and has a 5-1 record since debuting in the UFC in 2020.
Fighter facing multiple charges, off roster: Lightweight Ahmad Hassanzada had been scheduled to make his UFC debut this weekend in Kansas City. However, the organization has instead cut ties with the fighter after he was arrested and charged with two felonies in the state of California earlier this week.
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office records show the 29-year-old, who’s from Afghanistan but fighting out of Sacramento, has been charged with a “Lewd or Lascivious Act with a Child Under 14” and “Lewd Act on Child Victim 14 or 15/Defendant 10 Years Older Than Victim.” The arrest was first reported by AG Fight. An amateur MMA fighter named Khairullah Kakar, 21, was also arrested and faces a “Lewd or Lascivious Act with a Child Under 14” charge. Both remain in custody with bail set at $400,000. Their next court date is scheduled for April 30.
Hassanzada originally earned a UFC contract following a 2024 win at a DWCS event. He was set to fight Evan Elder at UFC Kansas City. Elder will now face DWCS veteran Guage Young instead.
