Ilia Topuria Makes Promise To No. 1 Contender After Winning Lightweight Title

Ilia Topuria became just the tenth person to become a UFC two-division champion when he won the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship by knocking out former champion, Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last month.

Now one of the hottest fighters on the roster, Topuria will be looking towards his next opponent to fight later this year, with Justin Gaethje, Paddy Pimblett and Arman Tsarukyan all offering their services for a title fight later on in 2025.

Although Pimblett was let into the cage after Topuria’s win in June – a move that UFC CEO, Dana White, claimed “should never have happened” – the most logical fight for Topuria is against the de facto number one contender in the division, Arman Tsarukyan.

And Topuria has issued a chilling message to the Armenian in the wake of some back and forth between the pair.

“Have you seen his fight against Charles Oliveira?” Topuria said to ABC’s Spanish language channel, “How many times did [Charles] come close to submitting him and tapping him out…I assure you, I’ll finish Arman Tsarukyan.”

Ilia Topuria Promises To Finish Arman Tsarukyan In Potential Future Matchup

Tsarukyan has been at the #1 spot ever since he beat Oliveira in a split decision win back in April 2024 in the UFC 300 mega card, but has yet to fight for the title.

He was one day away from fighting former 155 lb champion, Islam Makhachev, for the title back in January at UFC 311, before a back injury – which some attributed to a difficult weight cut – forced him out and lead to Renato Moicano taking the challenger spot in his absence.

Although he is now technically the #2 contender in the rankings, behind the former champion, Makhachev, who vacated the title in May, he will in all likelihood go back to being the official number one contender once the Russian fights new 170 lb champion, Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title this coming autumn.

Is Topuria Capable Of Finishing Arman Tsarukyan?

With Topuria, nothing is off the table. But Tsarukyan could well be his toughest test yet. Tsarukyan will be by far the best wrestler the former 145 lb champion has faced, and more importantly he has never been finished in his entire UFC career, with both of his two sole losses having come from decisions.

In fact, Tsarukyan has only been finished one time in his entire MMA career, back in his second professional fight in the MFP promotion to Alexander Belikh.

With Topuria’s unique combination of lethal knockout power and rare submission ability, there is no doubt that the Spaniard has the capabilities of finishing anyone in the division. But if Tsarukyan gets the opportunity to fight him and keeps the fight on the ground, it could be a real challenge for the champion.