Dan Hooker reveals alleged reason why Ilia Topuria turned down UFC 313 fight against Alexander Volkanovski

Ilia Topuria's prospective move to lightweight appears to be on hold for the time being. During an interview with El Partidazo de COPE in December, the featherweight champion shared his interest in moving to 155 pounds and facing Charles Oliveira.

After defeating Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 and Max Holloway at UFC 308, 'El Matador' was eager to move on to bigger and better challenges, having conquered the two biggest tests in the featherweight division.

But a potential bout between Topuria and Oliveira does not appear likely to materialize. Instead, the Spaniard is expected to face Volkanovski in a title rematch.

According to Dan Hooker, the 28-year-old was offered a contract to face 'The Great' at UFC 313 in March, where Hooker will take on Justin Gaethje. During a recent interview with Submission Radio, 'The Hangman' shared the alleged reason why Topuria turned down the fight offer.

He said:

"They wanted to put Volk and Ilia on the [UFC 313] card as well but Ilia said he needs six months to make weight or something. I'm like, 'Bro, what?'"

Check out Dan Hooker's comments on Ilia Topuria below (10:40):

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Ilia Topuria sends Islam Makhachev an offer following UFC 311

UFC 311 was headlined by a clash between Islam Makhachev and Renato Moicano. Makhachev was set to defend his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan, but the title challenger withdrew from the bout 24 hours before fight night due to injury.

Moicano replaced the injured Tsarukyan, but suffered a first-round submission defeat. The Dagestani became the most decorated lightweight champion in UFC history with his win, as he now holds the most title defenses at 155 pounds (four).

With there having been talks of Makhachev moving to welterweight to pursue a second UFC belt, the 33-year-old's future remains unclear. But should he decide to stay at lightweight, Ilia Topuria has offered to move up from 145 pounds and face him.

Following Makhachev's win over Moicano, 'El Matador' took to X and wrote the following:

"Islam, if you want to, I can finish you. If you want to, I can knock you out. I'll make it look easy. See you soon."

Check out Ilia Topuria's post directed at Islam Makhachev below:

Given that Topuria's grappling has been rumored to be better than his striking, the idea of a potential clash between Makhachev and the featherweight champion has MMA fans giddy.