Robert Whittaker reacts to Ilia Topuria vacating UFC featherweight title for Islam Makhachev fight: "I don't think he will struggle for power"

Robert Whittaker believes Ilia Topuria's power will translate to lightweight.

On April 12, Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes will fight for the vacant featherweight world title in the UFC 314 main event. The surprising fight announcement revealed that former featherweight king Ilia Topuria had officially vacated his title to move up to lightweight.

Topuria plans to challenge Islam Makhachev for the 155-pound title later this year. During a recent episode of the MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker had this to say about Topuria changing weight classes:

"I think by all accounts he used to have really really hard weight cuts, really hard weight cuts. I don't think he will struggle for power at the heavier weight division, so all props to him. Honestly, after beating Max [Holloway] and after beating Alex [Volkanovski] in the division, he's kind of cemented his reign in that division."

Check out Robert Whittaker's comments about Ilia Topuria starting at 21:39 using this link.

Topuria became the UFC featherweight champion with a second-round knockout against Alexander Volkanovski in February 2024. Eight months later, the 28-year-old defended his throne with a third-round finish against Max Holloway.

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Robert Whittaker praises Ilia Topuria for being "so far above the game" in MMA

Ilia Topuria holds a promotional record of 8-0, including six wins inside the distance. 'El Matador' has earned plenty of respect from the MMA community, but Robert Whittaker claimed his fighting skills are still underrated.

During the aforementioned podcast, Whittaker had this to say about Topuria:

"I feel like Ilia, people know he's good, but I don't think they know how good he is. People still don't realize technically he is so far above the game in terms of his jiu-jitsu, his wrestling, his pocketfighting." [22:32-23:10 in the aforementioned podcast]

Ilia Topuria could establish arguably the greatest three-fight run in UFC history with a win against Islam Makhachev. The Russian pound-for-pound king has defended his lightweight strap against Alexander Volkanovski x2, Dustin Poirier, and Renato Moicano.