Topuria plans to move to welterweight to face Makhachev, keep featherweight title

Ilia Topuria stated that he believes he can retain his featherweight title even if he moves up to welterweight to fight Islam Makhachev. Topuria explained that if he moves up to welterweight, everything will be different because after that fight he plans to return to the lightweight division. The statement suggests Topuria is open to challenging Makhachev at a higher weight class while maintaining his championship status at featherweight. Details on the timing or likelihood of such a matchup were not provided in the post.