Topuria says he can defend at 145 while pursuing Islam superfight

Ilia Topuria stated that if he moves up to welterweight to fight Islam Makhachev, he will not be stripped of his featherweight title because he plans to continue defending the lightweight belt. Topuria also expressed disappointment in Paddy Pimblett's performance against Sean O'Malley, saying he knew Pimblett was a poor fighter but didn't realize how bad. Jiří Procházka revealed he can't let go of his title loss and was operating at only 40-50 percent capacity due to injury, expecting the referee to stop the fight. Magomed Ankalaev (via Ali Abdelaziz) called out Khalil Rountree, promising a 25-minute striking masterclass.