Ilia Topuria claims he won't be stripped if he moves to welterweight

Ilia Topuria stated that he would not be stripped of his featherweight title if he moved up to welterweight to fight Islam Makhachev, as he plans to continue defending the 145-pound belt. Topuria expressed disappointment in Paddy Pimblett's recent performance against Renato Moicano, saying he knew Pimblett was a poor fighter but didn't realize how much. Jiri Prochazka revealed he cannot let go of his title loss and felt he was only at 40-50% power due to injury, fighting in sparring mode while waiting for a stoppage. Magomed Ankalaev, through his manager, called out Khalil Rountree, offering a striking masterclass and questioning if Rountree could last 25 minutes. The UFC also announced several new matchups, including pairing Cory Sandhagen with Merab Dvalishvili instead of Sean O'Malley.