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Welcome to Midnight Mania!
UFC CEO Dana White just announced a whole bunch of mind-blowing fights, shaking up the established plans of multiple divisions. The full list of UFC 314 bookings can be viewed right here and the UFC 315 bouts are here, but perhaps the biggest single bit of news is that UFC Featherweight kingpin Ilia Topuria is suddenly vacating his Featherweight crown.
It’s simultaneously a shocking bit of news and fairly unsurprising. Topuria is the sport’s hottest young champion, so for him to abandon his title already is nearly unprecedented (aside from a certain Irish superstar). At the same time, the Spanish athlete has been discussing his desire for a Lightweight move, so there has been some foreshadowing.
Already though?!?
To my mind, there’s only one reason Topuria would so willingly abandon his precious title: he thinks he’s getting another title shot. White mentioned plans for Topuria in his recent spree of announcements, and fans were quick to conclude that Islam Makhachev is the most likely next step.
“OH MY GOSH THE ISLAM FIGHT IS GOING TO HAPPEN,” one fan replied to Topuria’s Featherweight departure. Another wrote, “This officially means we’re getting Makhachev vs Topuria man LFG.” Alternatively, some speculated that Topuria could end up in the cage vs. Dustin Poirier or Charles Oliveira.
From the outside, the other bout announcement of Michael Chandler vs. Paddy Pimblett seems to indicate that UFC is leaning towards a Topuria instant title shot. If Chandler isn’t fighting Arman Tsaurkyan, then Charles Oliveira likely is, and there aren’t any other viable Lightweight contenders. Meanwhile, Topuria vs. Makhachev sounds like the kind of fight that could headline the biggest pay-per-view of the year. In addition, veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani claims the Makhachev vs. Topuria is the current plan.
International fight week, anybody?
February 19, 2025
“I’m here to challenge your strongest warrior.”
Word for word. He told me he was a master of some Japanese martial art. He lived in Japan with his dad and he got a black belt in all the martial arts.
— Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) February 19, 2025
The front desk person showed him around and introduced him to me and my teammates. He said, “Hey come meet this kid, he’s a black belt in everything.” I knew he was joking but I played along. The kid was just so far out there and everyone in the gym was humoring him.
— Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) February 19, 2025
Then the kid wanted to spar one of our purple belts. He even said he’d go easy on him and not use him as a punching bag I told him not to hurt our purple belt, he’s not that strong of a warrior. Plus, he’s also our front desk guy, so we need him
— Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) February 19, 2025
After I left, I started thinking to myself — how much harm am I doing by letting him continue with this false facade?
Is it better for me to beat him up in a safe environment before he actually gets beat up?
Or do I continue to let him live in his own crazy world?
— Sodiq Yusuff (@Super_Sodiq) February 19, 2025
If Song Yadong’s listed age is accurate (nobody knows), there’s an 11 year difference in age between the two competitors.
pic.twitter.com/lYo0WbVTx9
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 17, 2025
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