Former UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria has teased his long-awaited comeback to the Octagon after nearly six months away.
Topuria has not fought since UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, when he lost his UFC lightweight title in a TKO loss to Justin Gaethje on the White House lawn.
Now, nearly six months after losing his belt, it appears that Topuria is finally mounting his long-awaited comeback into the cage.
Ilia Topuria Teases UFC Comeback
Taking to his social media on Tuesday, Topuria teased his UFC comeback fight.
“I returned to where it all began. Not to reminisce, but to remember. The Matador is coming back,” Topuria wrote on his Instagram.
Who Will Ilia Topuria Fight in His UFC Comeback?
The question everyone wants to know is: who will Topuria fight in his UFC comeback fight?
The fight that Topuria wants, if it were up to him, of course, is a rematch against Gaethje for the belt, though he’s unlikely to get an immediate rematch based on how the pair’s first fight ended.
Topuria was finished against Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250, and not only that, but it was his first title defense, so that means he never once successfully defended his title at 155 lbs. Typically, that means that a fighter won’t get an immediate title shot, though in Topuria’s case, the fact that he’s such a global superstar means it was at least possible that he could be in the mix.
But with Arman Tsarukyan emerging as the clear No. 1 contender at 155 lbs and with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski also expressing serious interest in moving up in weight to fight for that title, it’s possible that either of those two men will fight Gaethje instead.
That leaves Paddy Pimblett as the most obvious opponent for Topuria. Both men have been tied together for a fight for the past several years, but it has not been booked to this point. Finally, in 2027, it’s possible that MMA fans finally get to see a matchup between Topuria and Pimblett, a fight that makes sense and one that could easily headline a numbered UFC event.
Ilia Topuria Teases Long-Awaited UFC Comeback