Can Ilia Topuria do everything left on his UFC to-do list by 30?

LAS VEGAS -- Six months ago, soon earlier helium agreed to vacate the UFC's featherweight championship, Ilia Topuria made a shocking declaration.

"I'm 27 [years old], and I anticipation to beryllium retired by 30," Topuria said successful Spanish connected the El Partidazo de COPE podcast.

Topuria (16-0), present 28, is competing astatine the highest level successful the satellite (currently ranked No. 2 connected ESPN's pound-for-pound list) and is fast-becoming 1 of the sport's biggest stars. Retirement would look to beryllium the furthest happening from his mind.

And it is.

Topuria, who volition look to go a two-weight champion connected Saturday erstwhile helium faces Charles Oliveira for the lightweight rubric astatine UFC 317 successful Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET connected ESPN+ PPV; prelims opening astatine 6:30 p.m. ET connected ESPN+/Disney+), said this week that those status comments from December were heavy influenced by the drastic magnitude of value helium had to chopped to marque the featherweight bounds of 145 pounds.

"I was struggling a batch with the value chopped and it was making maine commencement to hatred the full sport," Topuria told ESPN. "So yeah, I've changed my caput connected that. Those [extra] 10 pounds gave maine life."

But erstwhile pressed to look into the aboriginal of his career, Topuria and his squad are speedy to accidental determination inactive mightiness beryllium lone a mates of years left. The quality betwixt present and six months agone is that it has thing to bash with value and everything to bash with opportunity. Topuria, 1 of lone 2 fighters nether 30 connected ESPN's pound-for-pound list, has been truthful bully and truthful ambitious astatine a young age, determination isn't that overmuch near for him to pursuit if he's palmy astatine UFC 317.

As a benignant of fun, benignant of superior exercise, ESPN asked Topuria to representation retired his perfect vocation way done January 2027, the period successful which he'll crook 30. Here are immoderate of the fights and different things helium is looking toward.

Paddy Pimblett successful Las Vegas

If Topuria makes bully connected the prediction helium made earlier this week to decorativeness Oliveira successful the archetypal circular connected Saturday, don't beryllium amazed if the sanction "Paddy Pimblett" comes up beauteous quickly.

The 2 person history, dating backmost to 2021. Topuria, who lives successful Spain but is of Georgian descent, took discourtesy to comments Pimblett made astir the Russo-Georgian War of 2008. Topuria and Pimblett happened to look connected the aforesaid paper successful March 2022 and nearly came to blows astatine the UFC's big edifice successful London. The rivalry went dormant for immoderate clip aft that, arsenic the 2 weren't successful the aforesaid value class, but aft Pimblett overwhelmed Michael Chandler astatine UFC 314 and present that Topuria has entered the lightweight fray, it is an evident combat to make.

But Topuria does deliberation Pimblett needs to triumph 1 much clip earlier helium gets a rubric combat opportunity.

"In a cleanable world? Paddy would get a triumph and past we would fight," Topuria said. "Of course, I would decorativeness him, but I would bask that fight, due to the fact that that's 1 of those wherever you person 2 guys that truly privation to combat with each other. And I would bask myself successful that due to the fact that successful reality, I spot him arsenic a very, precise atrocious fighter. I cognize I tin predominate him everywhere."

Pimblett, of Liverpool, England, is ranked No. 8 astatine lightweight and has go 1 of the biggest, most-hyped names successful the division. Topuria's manager, Jose Diaz, sees the matchup arsenic not lone Topuria's archetypal rubric defence but arsenic the 1 that would catapult his combatant to UFC superstardom.

"Hopefully the UFC would spot it successful the aforesaid mode they saw Conor McGregor versus José Aldo, and bash the satellite circuit property conferences," Diaz said. "And we'd spot a antithetic broadside of Ilia up of that. He's ever precise professional, but radical would truly spot the amusive broadside of Ilia for that one. "

Despite Topuria's content that Pimblett is severely overrated, his member and coach, Aleksandre Topuria, said the squad would ne'er instrumentality a ranked UFC combatant lightly and would beryllium good prepared for the bout -- adjacent if immoderate of the gamesmanship suggested otherwise.

"Every clip we measurement wrong the Octagon, it doesn't substance who is successful beforehand of us, we hole similar it's the past combat of our lives," Aleksandre said. "Paddy is precise comfy astatine 155 pounds, and the astir important happening is you can't autumn into his mental, affectional crippled beforehand. Fortunately, Ilia is precise bully astatine this. Even if you deliberation Ilia is angry, conscionable cognize that helium knows however to play this game, too."

Now that Topura isn't cutting arsenic overmuch weight, helium said helium doesn't expect to request arsenic overmuch clip betwixt fights arsenic helium did astatine featherweight. That said, helium does judge a combat similar this could instrumentality spot successful lone 1 location: Las Vegas. That would astir surely spot Topuria vs. Pimblett for the lightweight rubric successful December.

Islam Makhachev successful Madrid

This would surely beryllium 1 of the biggest fights successful UFC past -- and if everything were to autumn correctly, it would person a changeable to beryllium the biggest of each time.

Like Topuria, Makhachev has agreed to vacate his rubric successful bid to determination up successful weight. The soon-to-be-former lightweight champion is expected to situation Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight loop aboriginal this year. If Makhachev wins, Topuria already has stated helium would privation to pursuit Makhachev up to 170 pounds and effort to go the archetypal to seizure belts successful 3 UFC value classes.

"The imagination is that Islam becomes welterweight satellite champion and the UFC calls maine to accidental they privation maine to determination up," Topuria said.

In summation to Topuria attempting to marque history, this matchup would apt pit the Nos. 1 and 2 pound-for-pound fighters successful the satellite against 1 another. Both person monolithic followings -- peculiarly successful Europe and West Asia. Makhachev has much than formed his ain identity, but his adjacent proximity to lifelong teammate and erstwhile champion Khabib Nurmagomedov ever adds intrigue to his combat weeks.

Neither Topuria nor Makhachev is known for "trash talk," but they already person traded nationalist shots astatine 1 different arsenic a imaginable gathering has go much likely.

"For sure, we are not going to beryllium benignant with each other," Topuria said. "That's for sure. I deliberation for that fight, they could make different loop and we could combat for the pound-for-pound belt. The PFP."

Stylistically, it would beryllium an incredibly hard combat for Topuria astatine 170 pounds -- and helium undoubtedly would beryllium the biggest underdog of his full career. But his finishing quality and confidence, particularly if helium were coming disconnected 2 lightweight wins against Oliveira and Pimblett, would springiness him a beardown accidental successful the eyes of the public.

"Would I similar to spot Ilia vie astatine welterweight? Obviously, the reply to that is 'no,'" Aleksandre said. "But would we instrumentality the accidental to combat astatine welterweight for the belt? For sure. Who wouldn't instrumentality this chance?

"For Ilia to triumph that fight, helium conscionable needs to beryllium himself. There is nary concealed cardinal to winning that fight. Stylistically, we cognize however bully we are, however beardown mentally we are. He would conscionable request to support doing what he's been doing."

Topuria vs. Makhachev would beryllium monolithic anyplace successful the world, but it would beryllium cleanable for the UFC's archetypal quality successful Spain. Topuria has expressed involvement successful filling Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium -- which holds much than 80,000 -- for a fight, and understandably said this would beryllium the 1 he'd want.

"Spain, I representation that successful Spain," said Topuria, who has lived successful the Mediterranean larboard metropolis of Alicante since helium was a teen. "One fight. I truly privation to bash astatine slightest 1 combat successful Spain, and yeah, that would beryllium incredible."

The drawback is that helium does not privation to bash it if it means warring successful the mediate of the nighttime section time, which the UFC has historically done with planetary cards to sphere the U.S. pay-per-view commencement time.

The UFC is presently negotiating its adjacent media rights woody successful the U.S., and Mark Shapiro, main operating serviceman of TKO Group Holdings, said earlier this twelvemonth that the UFC's genitor institution is unfastened to a non-PPV model.

"Life has changed connected the pay-per-view front," Shapiro said astatine a media league successful March. "Look, it works for us, but we are ace flexible. Linear, broadcast, streaming, pay-per-view, not pay-per-view."

"If the UFC does this caller woody with idiosyncratic who puts much precedence successful doing PPVs successful the primetime model of the big state itself, past wherefore couldn't it beryllium successful Spain?" Diaz said. "Ilia has ne'er fought astatine location successful the UFC. ... It would beryllium amazing."

There is nary shortage of dates an lawsuit similar this could autumn on, but a summertime blockbuster seems astir likely. That would bring our timeline to mid-2026.

Peace?

Topuria's imaginativeness for his vocation to this constituent is precise clear: Pimblett grudge lucifer and past with Makhachev. After that, not lone is the imaginativeness unclear, it's beauteous overmuch empty.

As hard arsenic it typically is for fighters to locomotion distant from MMA, nary 1 connected Topuria's squad said they envision him continuing to combat conscionable to fight. If helium were to marque past and triumph an unprecedented 3rd belt, immoderate aboriginal accidental oregon matchup would truly person to excite him for him to instrumentality it. Something that doesn't beryllium contiguous would person to materialize wrong the adjacent 18 months.

"I don't cognize what other helium could bash astatine that point," Diaz said. "I conjecture look for the adjacent large combat -- oregon if he's blessed with it, telephone it a day. Competition is what would support him around. A existent competition."

For idiosyncratic specified arsenic McGregor, who enjoyed a meteoric emergence done titles and fame, the tendency to look for thing bigger led him to the boxing ringing and Floyd Mayweather Jr. successful 2017. Topuria has said he's unfastened to the thought of crossing implicit aft his MMA vocation is done, but there's a catch. He would person to similar the matchup, due to the fact that helium wouldn't container conscionable to bash it.

"That's an enactment for me, yes," Topuria said. "I person that doorway if I privation it. Right now, though, I don't spot anyone that I would privation to container with."

Until immoderate of it happens, this is each speculation and dreams. Topuria (a -500 favourite by ESPNBet) could travel up abbreviated against Oliveira (+350) connected Saturday, and this full publication would request a rewrite. But erstwhile Aleksandre maps retired what an "ideal scenario" would look similar for his brother, there's truly lone 1 logical measurement aft Makhachev.

Peace.

Because erstwhile you've done it all, there's nary consciousness successful continuing to look for more.

"There is ever thing you tin find, but if helium were to bash each of this, I would archer him helium tin discontinue successful peace," Aleksandre said. "Even now, helium could discontinue successful peace. But if helium did each of this? What's left? Fight Jon Jones astatine heavyweight? He volition person done thing that has ne'er happened before. It's the cleanable scenario."

It's chaotic to deliberation about. Topuria whitethorn nary longer beryllium hoping to discontinue by 30, but determination is simply a satellite successful which helium inactive does.