There is more to Ilia Topuria leaving featherweight than he's verbally admitting, says UFC veteran

There is more to Ilia Topuria's lightweight move than meets the eye, or so believes a UFC legend. Topuria and his team have cited many reasons for 'La Leyenda' making a permanent shift to the 155-pound division. Of those, two stand out - trouble making the 145-pound weight limit and lack of legacy-defining fights left for the Georgian-born Spaniard at featherweight.

However former three-time UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen believes Topuria was not passionate about the featherweight division to begin with.

As the 'Bad Guy' sees it, the 28-year-old was not overly-excited even for match-ups against Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, which in turn made him a household name in Europe.

During a recent segment on his YouTube channel, Sonnen made eye-opening observations about the change in the No.3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter's demeanor since his lightweight move:

"He is done with 145 [pounds]. He is done with 145 [pounds]. He wants nothing to do with 145 [pounds]. He didn't have a passion at 145 [pounds]. He wasn't building anything at 45... But he does now. You can't hear a happy Ilia interview. He is so angry."

Sonnen added:

"I haven't seen him this hungry. He wasn't this hungry when he stumbled upon a world championship at 145. I was there in Anaheim when he threw the hook that landed on Volkanovski, he wasn't that into it."

Check out Chael Sonnen's comments about Ilia Topuria below:

Sonnen suggested that uncertainties regarding an immediate title shot at lightweight despite relinquishing his featherweight strap to facilitate the move-up have lit a fire in Topuria's belly.

Interestingly, Sonnen might be right. While many believe, 'La Leyenda' is next in line for Islam Makhachev's lightweight strap, UFC CEO Dana White has been reluctant of late to make an official announcement regarding Topuria's next opponent.

Add to that there is no shortage of contenders in the promotion's marquee division. Topuria might lose out on the title shot race to the likes of Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, and others, something that would surely make the UFC star more invested in his current situation.