"Needs to tell Jon Jones this" - Fans laud Ilia Topuria as he confesses the real reason for vacating featherweight title

Ilia Topuria recently opened up about vacating the featherweight title and explained his move to lightweight. He clarified that he wasn't ready to cut weight to 145 pounds anymore and didn't want to hold up the featherweight division.

Last month, Dana White announced that Topuria would be moving up to the lightweight division and would be vacating the featherweight title. Alexander Volkanovski will face Diego Lopes at UFC 314 for the vacant 145-pound championship. White explained in his announcement that Topuria believed he'd solidified his legacy at featherweight and outlined his weight-cut issues.

Watch the full video below:

In a recent interview with Men's Health Espana, Topuria expanded on the same and detailed why he chose to vacate the featherweight title. He said:

"I know I'm not going to cut weight right now, and I don't want to hold down an entire division. There are guys who are preparing every day, who are fighting, just like me, for their dreams... And keeping the title would be very selfish of me. Besides, I'm the world champion, whether I vacate the title or not. I don't need a belt to feel worthy."

After @ChampRDS shared his quotes in an X post, fans flocked to the post's comments section to express their thoughts.

One fan took a shot at Jon Jones and wrote:

"Ilia needs to tell Jon Jones this."

Another wrote:

"He's so considerate and people will still hate."

Check out some more reactions below:

Screenshots from @ChampRDS on X

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Ilia Topuria issues a savage response to Charles Oliveira's take on a potential fight

Charles Oliveira doesn't want to see Ilia Topuria get an immediate title shot in the lightweight division. The Brazilian reportedly stated that he wasn't interested in being the Georgian-Spanish fighter's first opponent at 155 pounds and wanted him to win the title before considering a clash.

During an episode of the Good Guy/ Bad Guy show with Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen, 'The American Gangster' outlined Oliveira's quotes and said:

"I will only fight [Topuria] if he wins the belt."

Oliveira's comments didn't go down well with Topuria, and 'El Matador' soon took to social media to issue a response. He slammed the Brazilian's resume and boldly called himself the "father of the entire division" in an X post. He wrote:

"Charles, it's better if you stay quiet. You have 10 losses: 5 by knockout, 4 by submission, and 1 by decision. You are the contender, while I am the champion, the father of the entire division. I haven't come here to ask anything. Here, I am the one in charge."