Ilia Topuria announces the start of "new era" on his UFC return, relinquishing old identity

Ilia Topuria has new challenges ahead of him after vacating the featherweight title and moving up a weight class currently dominated by Islam Makhachev. Topuria might have to start from scratch to earn his lightweight title. Fans demanded to watch Topuria against Makhachev and went in for a toss when the Dagestani and his team rejected this heavily anticipated bout, saying Topuria needed to climb up the ladder for the title shot.

Topuria's nickname, 'El Matador,' means bullfighter, which resembles his personality and aura inside the cage. His impeccable Mexican style of boxing justifies the nickname perfectly. However, recently, Topuria seems to make new decisions and has something different to offer to the MMA community. After his move to the lightweight, the Spaniard has decided to change his nickname as he is ready to summon a "new era."

Topuria wrote on X:

"El Matador has been my ally in every fight. But next time, I’ll step into the octagon with a new identity. #NewEra"

Check out Ilia Topuria's X post below:

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Charles Oliveira responds to Ilia Topuria fight rumors

Ilia Topuria has been in talks after he moved up to the lightweight division. After Islam Makhchev's rejection, the MMA world is curious about whom Topuria is set to fight next, as he has been giving hints to fans and spectators about his next fight on various social media platforms. With this discussion, the usual top-ranked fighters came into a float, amongst which Charles Oliviera is the most spoken.

Recently, Chael Sonnen dismissed this idea by saying that he has some internal confirmation from Oliviera and is not interested in fighting 'El Matador' before he proves himself in the lightweight division. But, 'Do Bronx' of late spoke to Oddspedia denying these claims and stated that he is ready to fight whomever the UFC sets him up with.

Oliviera said:

"Whoever I get told to fight Imam going to fight, I believe I could knock Topuria out"

Check out the post by MMA Point where Charles Oliviera spoke about Ilia Topuria to Oddspedia:

Fighting in the lightweight might prove to be challenging for Topuria as he has only fought featherweight fighters till now. The difference in power and strength will be a new test for 'El Matador' or whatever new moniker he decides for himself.