UFC color commentator Joe Rogan knows what he wants to see next from featherweight kingpin Ilia Topuria — and it’s not a second dance with Alexander Volkanovski.
Topuria remains without a date in the calendar for his first fight of 2025, following on from a 2024 in which he dethroned Volkanovski and became the first man to knock out Max Holloway.
A rematch with “Alexander the Great” was quickly tipped as the Spaniard’s next assignment after he defended the belt against “Blessed” last October. But frequent comments from Topuria and his team regarding a lightweight switch have led to some uncertainty.
Despite only defending his title once, “El Matador” has made no secret of his desire to challenge Islam Makhachev for two-division glory as soon as possible.
And for Rogan, there’s no time like the present.
“As crazy as it sounds, I hope Ilia goes up to (155 pounds). I really do,” Rogan said during his JRE Fight Companion episode for Saturday’s UFC 312 pay-per-view. “Volkanovski-Diego Lopes (at) 145, Ilia goes up to ’55. I don’t care if he only defended the title one time or didn’t, who cares. Let’s go. Let’s f*cking go.
“It’d be nice [to see him fight some of the other contenders at (featherweight), but also, who cares? Let’s go. Let’s f*cking go,” Rogan added.
Plenty is evidently left to be decided at 145 pounds, with various reports flying about Topuria vs. Volkanovski 2 and other potential bouts such as Volkanovski against the charging Diego Lopes.
Makhachev, meanwhile, remains without a next challenger to his throne after top contender Arman Tsarukyan ruled himself out by withdrawing from UFC 311 on 24 hours’ notice.
The promotion is promising something huge for the Dagestani next time out, though, perhaps boosting Topuria’s chances of securing the matchup.
