After knocking out two of the greatest featherweights of all time, Ilia Topuria agreed to relinquish his 145 lbs title to move up to the lightweight division. ‘El Matador’ has been demanding a title fight against Islam Makhachev from Dana White, but Team Khabib is hell-bent on making Topuria wait. With no fights in sight for the former champ, it appears he may have gained some weight due to his inactivity.

A video has resurfaced in the UFC community showing Ilia Topuria appearing to have gained significant weight in his efforts to move up to the lightweight division. Topuria was seen walking across the O2 arena ahead of UFC London with the crewmember, and his noticeably protruding belly caught the attention of fans. Well, we don’t know whether it’s due to his jacket or he actually gained some pounds but what we do know is the fact that he seems content.

Why? Well, that’s because Ilia Topuria nearly questioned his decision to fight at featherweight as he was cutting weight to clash against the division’s former champion Alexander Volkanovski. ‘El Matador’ has fought in the bantamweight division as well in his initial days but as his career grew he transitioned to the featherweight division and finally to the lightweight division.

Interestingly, unlike other fighters who believe in undergoing extreme weight cuts, Topuria has a unique technique that might not work on anybody except him. It’s the wine! In a conversation with Michael Bisping, the former featherweight champion highlighted that drinking wine during his weight-cut process has helped him immensely, “So the thing is that when I drink half a liter of wine, and you know that on Thursday it’s a very hard night for every fighter because it’s a day before the weigh-ins.”

He further added, “So it’s hard to sleep, it’s hard to rest, but I drink half a liter of wine. I get very buzzed, very buzzed, and I have such a great time with everyone.” Now that Ilia Topuria has transitioned to the lightweight division, cutting weight might be easier for him. But how are the fans reacting to this ‘paunch’? Let’s find out.

Ilia Topuria gets a bashing from the fans as his video caught fire

Starting off, a social media user highlighted the fact that the perceived increase in his weight might be an illusion caused by the jacket, “That boy been eating or is that just the jacket.” However, we should not forget that ‘El Matador’ walks around at a walk-around weight of 187 pounds.

Moreover, another fan compared him to Paddy Pimblett, “he has been on that paddy diet.” Why? Well, that’s because the British fighter is one of the anomalies in the division. Outside of fight camps, ‘The Baddy’ bloats up and becomes nigh unrecognizable because of his love for food. However, come weight-in days, and the Scouser clocks in at 155 pounds n the dot.

Furthermore, another fan asks, “Walking all fat.. whens the announcement.” There have been rumors that Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev is under discussion and their fight might happen in June at International Fight Week. But other than this rumor, there’s no concrete statement about their fight. Another fan chimed in, saying, “Looking kinda hefty.“

Dana White will also be there in London to oversee the event and a fan believes that this is the opportunity for the announcement of a possible clash, “Dana’s there too, you know what it means.” Last but not the least, a fan emphasized that Ilia Topuria is hiding from Paddy Pimblett, “Now it makes sense why he was hiding behind security. He was so afraid of Paddy,” which seems highly unlikely.

Considering Ilia Topuria’s intent to push for a fight against Islam Makhachev with Dana White, when do you think ‘El Matador’ will make his return to the Octagon? Share your thoughts in the comments below!