"He gonna do what he's told" - Fans react to Ilia Topuria not being interested in a potential number one contender fight against Arman Tsarukyan

Ilia Topuria last competed last October when he defeated Max Holloway via third-round knockout at UFC 308 to defend his featherweight title for the first time. While he was widely expected to face Alexander Volkanovski in a rematch of their UFC 298 clash, 'El Matador' shocked fans as he vacated the title to make the move to the lightweight division.

Despite talks that he could have to face a top-ranked contender before competing for the title, his team recently revealed that he has no plans to fight a No.1 contender fight. Championship Rounds shared the news on X, posting:

"🚨 Ilia Topuria isn't interested in a #1 contender fight against Arman Tsarukyan at lightweight, according to his team: "Ilia wants a championship fight. He will not fight for the status of a contender with Tsarukyan or anyone else." [via. TASS, h/t @RedCorner_MMA] #UFC #MMA"

Check out the post by Championship Rounds below:

Fans shared their reaction to the news. @UnSeenSports_ claimed that Topuria will do what he is told:

"he gonna do what he's told"

@realkevink questioned why the former featherweight champion would fight Arman Tsarukyan:

"Why in the world would he fight Arman"

@iflowmannMMA hopes to see 'El Matador' face Islam Makhachev:

"But that’s what he said before moving up. 😭 Guve him Islam though because at this point I’m tired of it. Just make the damn fight and get it over with😂😂"

@USMCVet_0323 compared Topuria's situation to his past two opponents:

"I agree, give him the title shot. They did it twice for Volk, who Topuria destroyed, and for Holloway who Topuria also destroyed. Also, the rest of the challenges for Islam at LW aren't as interesting as a fight with Topuria."

Check out the best fan reactions below:

Fan reactions

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Alexander Volkanovski's coach discusses rematch scenario with Ilia Topuria

Following Ilia Topuria's decision to vacate the featherweight title, it was announced that Alexander Volkanovski would face Diego Lopes for the vacant belt. The No.1-ranked featherweight coach, Joe Lopez, weighed in on a potential scenario where the two stars could have a rematch for the lightweight title.

When asked about the potential matchup Denis Shkuratov of Submission Radio, stated:

"Oh, 100%, it would be a fight of ages, you know, and I know Volk wants to get that back. I know he wants to - you know, he's pretty disappointed that Ilia pulled out, you know, because, yeah, Volk's a very proud and - he wants it back. He just wants it back."

Check out Joe Lopez's comments on Alexander Volkanovski rematching Ilia Topuria below (8:12):

Lopez added that he believes Volkanovski came back too early after his UFC 294 loss to Islam Makhachev and appeared to be gun shy. He noted that he is not looking to make excuses, but that they would like to rematch Topuria.