After emerging from his lightweight title fight with Charles Oliveira unscathed, Ilia Topuria initially sought a quick turnaround before the end of the year.
While Dana White wasn’t a fan of El Matador’s impromptu staredown with streaking Scouser Paddy Pimblett following his UFC 317 win, all signs pointed to the UFC likely booking Topuria a fight with The Baddy or Justin Gaethje.
Although there’s been radio silence from the UFC regarding Topuria’s first title defense, the champ shared an update with fans during a Q&A aired on Betsson Sport, the main sponsor of Inter Milan, revealing that his first title defense may very well take place on the UFC’s inaugural Paramount event in January.
When asked about the possibility of fighting on the card, Topuria simply replied:
“It’s very possible.”
The big question, of course, is who will Topuria share the Octagon with?
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If the UFC does book Topuria’s first title defense for January’s UFC 324 card, it’ll be interesting to see who he winds up fighting.
Back when El Matador won the title, Dana White was dismissive of the ultimatum coming from Justin Gaethje’s camp. At the same time, White was also dismissive of Arman Tsarukyan, who weighed in as the backup fighter for the UFC 317 main event, saying that the move was a step in the right direction for the streaking contender.
More recently, following the Tsarukyan vs. Hooker booking, Alvaro Colmenero shared an update on the situation during a televised appearance on Eurosport Spain earlier this month, explaining that the UFC wants to book a Topuria-Gaethje fight for January.
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Based on the champ’s comments this week, it sounds like we may be in for a fight between El Matador and The Highlight to kick off the new year, and the UFC’s partnership with Paramount.