Dan Hooker makes bold claim about Ilia Topuria being “stripped” of featherweight title by UFC brass: “You fight when we tell you to"

Ilia Topuria's decision to vacate the featherweight title and move to lightweight left fans and pundits stunned alike. The Spaniard was expected to face Alexander Volkanovski this year in a rematch of their UFC 298 clash. But it now appears that a mega-fight with 155-pound king Islam Makhachev may be on the horizon.

However, teammate of Volkanovski's, Dan Hooker, has stated his belief that the UFC stripped Topuria of his title for refusing to accept a featherweight title fight with 'The Great'.

Hooker claimed that as punishment, the UFC brass stripped 'El Matador' of his title. The Kiwi's comments were made during his recent interview with Submission Radio, where he said:

"If they were going to have [Topuria] shoot for the double-champ status then I don't think they would have stripped him of his title. He's a guy that's inactive. I know that Volk's been trying to fight Ilia and the UFC has been wanting to put the Ilia fight together for the longest time. He's continually said he can't make the weight."

He continued:

"If his plan was to shift up and get a shot at the other title and the UFC's the one that wanted it to happen as well, then there's no way the UFC would strip him of his title before he went and contested [for the lightweight belt]... I think they just took it off him as a bit of a show of force. Just to be like, brother, you fight when we tell you to fight."

Check out Dan Hooker discussing Ilia Topuria below (6:55):

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Islam Makhachev's coach welcomes Ilia Topuria clash

Islam Makhachev is currently an unstoppable force in the lightweight division, having recently secured the record for the most title defenses (4) in the division's history at UFC 311.

But Ilia Topuria's decision to move northwards and take on bigger challenges could see him and Makhachev square off in a bonafide super fight. The Dagestani's longtime coach, Javier Mendez, recently shared his thoughts on a potential clash with 'El Matador' at International Fight Week in June.

Mendez was interviewed by Submission Radio, where he said:

"Yeah of course. I mean anybody. All Islam needs is 2 months to prepare for anybody. He is not going to care who he fights. You make 155 we all have the same attitude. We fight you pay us… He is not gonna say no."

Check out Javier Mendez discuss Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria below (12:20):