Chael Sonnen has made his stance clear on the debate surrounding whether Ilia Topuria should be next in line to face Islam Makhachev. Echoing the perspective of Makhachev and his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, Sonnen believes that Topuria, who recently moved up from featherweight to lightweight, still needs to prove himself in his new division before earning a title shot. When reflecting on Khabib’s comments that Arman Tsarukyan is the rightful next challenger and not Topuria, Sonnen didn’t hold back in offering a critical take on how the UFC handled Topuria’s situation.
Sonnen highlighted the contradiction in the narrative around Topuria vacating his featherweight belt. While the official story is that Topuria voluntarily gave up the title, Sonnen argued that the actual events suggest otherwise. On his YouTube channel, he pointed out that when the bell rang for the Volkanovski vs. Lopes fight at UFC 314, Topuria was no longer champion—a detail that, according to Sonnen, suggests he was effectively stripped. He emphasized that while fans are told the belt was vacated, the UFC’s actions speak louder, implying a quiet stripping of the title.
Technically, Sonnen isn’t wrong. The rules did result in Topuria being removed as champion when UFC 314 began. Though Topuria had agreed to vacate the title, he was still officially champion until that moment. The optics, Sonnen argued, made it seem more like a stripping than a voluntary relinquishment. This gray area leaves Topuria in an awkward position—he gave up his belt with the expectation of a lightweight title shot, but now that opportunity isn’t materializing.
Currently, it looks like Makhachev has no plans to fight Topuria next. In fact, the lightweight champion is reportedly interested in moving up to welterweight to chase a second title. However, this potential move depends on the result of the upcoming Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena fight at UFC 315. Although rumors suggested Makhachev was waiting on that result, Khabib and the champ’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, denied that narrative. Khabib stated clearly that Makhachev won’t fight for the 170-pound title if Belal Muhammad wins, citing personal loyalty and the closeness of their relationship.
Khabib explained that their team doesn’t trade relationships for titles. But if Della Maddalena wins the welterweight belt, Makhachev may very well pursue that fight. The UFC appears to be in wait-and-see mode, pending the outcome of that May 10 bout.
This situation leaves Topuria in limbo. Even if Makhachev stays at lightweight, Topuria still faces a daunting task: defeating a top contender like Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, or Arman Tsarukyan to secure a shot at the title. Entering a new weight class and immediately taking on elite opponents is risky. A single loss would not only snap Topuria’s undefeated streak but could push him far from title contention and diminish the hype for a future fight against Makhachev.
So while Topuria’s move up to lightweight was supposed to elevate his career, he now finds himself in a difficult position—with no guaranteed path to a title shot and a significant risk of losing the momentum he built as featherweight champion.