"Drop the belt then" - Fans give mixed reactions as Ilia Topuria eyes Charles Oliveira for lightweight debut before potentially facing Islam Makhachev

Ilia Topuria recently sent fans into a frenzy after outlining his future career plans. He revealed that he's interested in moving up to lightweight for a fight against Charles Oliveira before going after a title shot against Islam Makhachev.

In an interview with El Partidazo de COPE, 'El Matador' detailed his ideal path going forward and specified why he wanted to fight Oliveira. He said:

"Since Islam is going to fight in January and he is not going to be ready for April/May, I would like to fight the #1 contender which is Charles Oliveira."

After @ChampRDS shared Topuria's quotes in an X post, fans flocked to the comments section to share their thoughts on his announcement. While some fans loved the Georgian-Spanish fighter's idea, others weren't so keen on it.

One fan slammed Topuria's future plans and wrote:

"Drop the belt then. 1 title defense doesn't warrant a freebie non-title fight at a higher div."

Another posted:

"Bro is not afraid, and this is a banger match-up!!"

Check out some more fan reactions below:

Screenshots from @ChampRDS on X

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Islam Makhachev on a potential Ilia Topuria title shot in the future

Islam Makhachev recently weighed in on a potential Ilia Topuria fight, and it appears the reigning lightweight champion isn't keen on facing the Georgian-Spanish fighter. After Topuria's knockout win over Max Holloway at UFC 308, he name-dropped Makhachev as a possible future opponent and shared plans to win the 155-pound strap as his second belt.

While some fans are keen on watching that fight, Makhachev doesn't see any benefit in fighting another featherweight champion at 155 pounds. During an interview with Match TV, Makhachev explained why he didn't take Topuria seriously and said:

We will definitely have some kind of conversation... I don’t understand what he wants to tell me. Let’s step outside and talk. He wants to fight? We’ll fight if we need to... In terms of my fighting career, I’m not interested in fighting Topuria at all. He’s in a different weight class. I’ll beat him, and what will that do for me? I won’t win another belt. Everyone will once again say that I beat a featherweight. That’s it. But if people really want to see him lose, then we can do it."