Ilia Topuria dismisses idea of fighting in title eliminator in next bout: "There's no way"

Ilia Topuria recently weighed in on the current landscape of the UFC's lightweight division and brushed off the idea of his next fight being a title eliminator bout. He has made it known that he'd like to challenge the division's kingpin Islam Makhachev, but a bout has yet to materialize.

Topuria relinquished his featherweight championship a few months ago in favor of a permanent move up to lightweight due to issues making 145 pounds. The 28-year-old doesn't believe he needs to prove himself anymore and deserves an opportunity to fight for the title rather than competing against Arman Tsarukyan for the number one contender fight.

During his latest appearance on PBD Podcast, the former featherweight champion mentioned that challenging Makhachev is the most logical decision and believes Dana White would agree:

"[White] wouldn't tell me to fight [Arman Tsarukyan for a title shot]... He would say for the [lightweight] belt... There's no way that I have to fight to be the number one contender. I have to fight directly for the belt."

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below (15:47):

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Ilia Topuria outlines when he will likely compete again

During the aforementioned appearance, Ilia Topuria also shared his thoughts on the potential timeline of his next bout.

Topuria stated that the timeline for his next bout is still unclear, but is remaining hopeful it takes place in the summer, which would mark almost a year since his last bout. He said:

"Personally, I don't know [when my next fight will be]. I hope in summer, maybe in September. I don't know... [UFC will] call you, they tell you like, 'I need you in this day, in this place'... What they do always with the champions is that they give you at least 12 weeks of preparation." [16:14]

Check out a clip of Dana White discussing Ilia Topuria vacating his UFC featherweight championship below: