Has Ilia Topuria truly cemented his legacy in featherweight before moving up as he claims? Former UFC double champ weighs in on the burning question

A former UFC two-division champion recently weighed in on Ilia Topuria’s assertion that he had solidified his legacy in the featherweight division before moving up a weight class.

On Wednesday, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that ‘El Matador’ will vacate his 145-pound title and is set to move up to the lightweight division in pursuit of becoming a two-division champion. However, no opponent or fight has been scheduled for Topuria’s 155-pound stint.

White explained that Topuria's decision stemmed from his belief that he had achieved enough in the featherweight division, along with the growing difficulty of cutting down to the 145-pound weight limit.

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Daniel Cormier shared his thoughts on Topuria’s decision to vacate his belt and called it a brave move:

"This is massive news in the world of mixed martial arts because, very rarely, do you get a champion that walks away from his weight class and says, 'I'm done with it. I don't want to have an interim title; I just want to give the belt up. I'm going to go up full-time. I'm moving.' Jon Jones did it. Georges St-Pierre did it. Now Ilia Topuria is doing it. Here's the difference: those guys all had guaranteed title fights as they went up in weight class—Ilia does not have that."

The UFC Hall of Famer noted that ‘El Matador’ has, to some extent, secured his legacy at 145 pounds by knocking out two of the division’s best, Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway:

"Ilia Topuria has become the champion and only defended the belt one time. Generally, when someone says, 'My legacy is defined after one title defense,' we would laugh at him. But how do you laugh at Topuria when he beat Alexander Volkanovski to become the world champion by knockout, and then he beat Max Holloway to defend and keep that world championship by knockout? So, his process is a little bit shortened."

Check out Daniel Cormier's comments below (2:07):

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How does Ilia Topuria's UFC record stack up?

Ilia Topuria made his UFC debut in October 2020, earning a dominant unanimous decision victory over Youssef Zalal. He then built momentum with four consecutive finishes and another decision win, ultimately earning his first shot at the title.

‘El Matador’ claimed the featherweight title by dethroning longtime champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February 2024. Eight months later, he successfully retained his belt, securing a victory over Max Holloway at UFC 308 in October.

Topuria remains undefeated with a perfect 8-0 record in the UFC and 16-0 overall. His impressive resume includes six knockout victories and eight wins by submission.