Topuria Says He Won't Be Stripped at Lightweight if He Moves Up to Face Makhachev

Ilia Topuria revealed that if he moves up to welterweight to fight Islam Makhachev, he will not be stripped of his lightweight title because he plans to continue defending the 155-pound belt. Topuria also expressed disappointment with Paddy Pimblett's performance against Gaethje, saying he knew Pimblett was a poor fighter but didn't realize how bad. Jiri Prochazka stated he cannot move past his loss even after the birth of his child, claiming he was at 40-50% capacity after injury and fought in sparring mode, expecting the referee to stop the bout. Magomed Ankalaev, through his manager Abdel Aziz, called out Khalil Rountree, saying Rountree doesn't need the wrestling training he's doing with Khamzat Chimaev because Ankalaev wants to give him a 25-minute striking masterclass. The UFC announced several new matchups for hardcore fans, including assigning Cory Sandhagen to face Mario Bautista instead of Sean O'Malley.