"Probably bulking for 155", "Makhachev vs. Topuria will happen"- Fans react as Ilia Topuria drops new sparring footage ahead of potential UFC return

Reigning UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has dropped new sparring footage on X ahead of his potential return. The two-minute video has elicited various responses from fans impressed by Topuria's physique and sparring.

Championship Rounds on X shared footage of Topuria training, captioning the post as:

"Ilia Topuria is looking sharp in newly released training footage 🥊👀"

Check out Ilia Topuria's training clip below:

After seeing the video above, several netizens flooded the comments with theories and conjectures.

A fan wrote:

"He looks f**king huge, probably bulking for 155"

Another netizen chimed in:

"He lookin a lil bigger too. Makhachev vs. Topuria will happen"

Meanwhile, a user commented:

"every time he posts training footage, a fight is announced soon after"

Check out a few more reactions below:

Fan reactions [Courtesy of: Championship Rounds on X]

'El Matador' last locked horns with Max Holloway at UFC 308 and won the bout via KO/TKO in round three. With that, the Spaniard defended his strap successfully and also became the first UFC fighter to KO Holloway.

Last year, 'El Matador' revealed that he is aiming for a potential lightweight move to attain double-champ status and hence challenge the champion Islam Makhachev. The 155-pound king, however, has dismissed a fight with the Spaniard but has given his supporters optimism that he will enter the octagon and grant their wishes if they desire this battle.

Meanwhile, there have been speculations that Topuria could lock horns with Charles Oliveira if he transitions to lightweight.

The fight community is divided, with some wanting the Spaniard to move up while some want him to stay at featherweight, rematch Alexander Volkanovski, and defend his gold a few more times.

As per 'El Matador's' coach, the latter is aiming to fight in May. The UFC, however, has not given a date for his next fight.

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Paddy Pimblett thinks Ilia Topuria "is not Conor McGregor"

Paddy Pimblett does not second a super fight between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev. Pimblett and Topuria have a strained relationship. Recently, 'The Baddy' appeared on The Blood Red Podcast and said:

"I can’t see Ilia fighting Islam. He’s only defended the belt once, normally you need to defend the belt like three times. And he’s not that big of a star to just jump straight in. He is not [Conor] McGregor to just jump right up and fight for the other belt, so I can’t personally see that happening. But we’ll see what happens."

Check out Paddy Pimblett's comments about Ilia Topuria (0:20):