Ilia Topuria has made it clear that he is open to testing himself at lightweight, and now he has Joe Rogan in his corner. During his UFC 312 Fight Companion podcast, Rogan didn’t hold back in calling for a fight between Topuria and reigning 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev.
“As crazy as it sounds, I hope Ilia goes up to [155 pounds],” Rogan said. “I really do. [Alexander] Volkanovski-Diego Lopes [at] 145, Ilia goes up to 55. I don’t care if he only defended the title one time or didn’t, who cares. Let’s go. Let’s f*cking go.”
Should Topuria Defend or Move Up
Topuria captured the featherweight belt by finishing Alexander Volkanovski and then followed it up with a knockout win over Max Holloway, who had never been stopped by strikes before. While a rematch between Topuria and Volkanovski has been rumored, Rogan believes the former champ should take a step back and get a solid win before fighting for gold again.
“If you want to make the big fight for July, is it the Volkanovski rematch? I don’t know,” Rogan said. “Volkanovski, people probably want to see him win one. He gets beaten by Islam in the first fight, he gets KO’d by Islam in the second fight … and then he gets KO’d by Ilia. So two KO losses in a row, one decision, even though he’s a legend, you kind of want to see him beat a contender maybe.”
Rogan understands the argument for Topuria defending his belt against other featherweight contenders, but he doesn’t believe that should stop a move to lightweight.
“It’d be nice [to see him fight some of the other contenders at featherweight] but also who cares? Let’s go. Let’s f*cking go.”
While Rogan isn’t against a rematch, he believes Volkanovski’s quick turnaround after being knocked out by Makhachev may have affected his performance against Topuria.
“I wouldn’t hate a rematch,” Rogan admitted. “It’s one of those ones where I hope Alex is 100 percent and I want to see it, but he shouldn’t have fought him that quickly after getting KO’d by Islam. Three months, four months later, he took a shot.”
With Topuria’s future still undecided, UFC fans are left wondering what’s next. Will he stay at featherweight for another title defense, or will he take on the challenge of facing Makhachev at 155 pounds? If the UFC wants a massive fight, Rogan believes this is the one to make.
Joe Rogan wants to see Ilia Topuria vs Islam Makhachev for the 155 title, and Diego Lopes vs Alexander Volkanovski for the 145 title:
“I don’t care if [Ilia] only defended the title one time… who cares. Let’s go. Let’s f***ing go.”
🎥 @joerogan #UFCpic.twitter.com/XvQsXVmzVw
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 10, 2025
