Ilia Topuria is currently facing allegations of domestic violence and family abuse as his divorce proceedings with his wife, Giorgina Uzcategui Badell, continue. For now, recent developments seem to be in ‘El Matador’s favor. He scored an early legal win, which led him to announce a tentative comeback for the spring. However, UFC veteran Matt Brown recently urged Topuria to reconsider his decision.

Earlier this month, Spanish outlet El Mundo claimed that Ilia Topuria faced a court summons over domestic violence allegations. The report later proved false, and the Spanish-Georgian star publicly called out the outlet. With so much happening at once, questions are rising about the toll on Topuria’s mental focus. Can the champion return so soon while managing such heavy personal distractions?

Ilia Topuria could face a shock defeat while navigating personal turmoil

“I’m going to say I have a ton of confidence in this prediction, but if it comes true, it would be a cool one to have. And that is Ilia comes back. But the bolder prediction is that he loses. He comes back too soon, still dealing with all this stuff, and ends up losing because he’s not in the right headspace,” said UFC veteran Matt Brown while speaking with Damon Martin.

With Ilia Topuria currently out, the interim lightweight showdown between Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 is set to take center stage on January 24. Meanwhile, Chael Sonnen and others are urging Dana White and Co. to strip ‘El Matador’ of the title, stressing that interim belts should only go to fighters dealing with injuries or illness, not personal issues. This has raised concerns that Topuria could risk losing his title during the hiatus.

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“I think Ilia is a smart guy, which is why I’m kind of on the fence about this prediction. I’m not saying I really believe it, but fighters don’t like not fighting. They don’t like sitting on the sidelines. I can speak from my own experience,” Matt Brown added.

Despite the looming threat of losing his title, Ilia Topuria is enjoying his personal break, hanging out with friends like Merab Dvalishvili and connecting with football stars. At the same time, he’s clearly handling everything in stride. Topuria hasn’t fought since last summer, when he captured the vacant lightweight title by defeating Charles Oliveira at UFC 317.

Since then, the public has kept a close eye on him, and some of that attention may actually play into Dana White and Co.’s love for drama, which could explain why the promotion decided to keep the undisputed title on Topuria’s shoulder.

Is the UFC taking a different approach with Ilia Topuria?

The UFC has never strictly followed the rulebook or ranking system; for the promotion, it’s always about entertainment. That became clear when the organization passed over top-ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan in favor of Paddy Pimblett, likely to maximize sales and hype for UFC 324 among American and English fans. Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria remains on hiatus. Last month, he stirred attention by revealing that the promotion has different plans for the winner of the interim title bout between Pimblett and Justin Gaethje.

“(It) will be good if Paddy wins. If Justin wins, the UFC has different plans that I can’t talk about at this moment,” said the Georgian standout.

With Arman Tsarukyan waiting for his opportunity, Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway are set to face each other at UFC 326 for the BMF title. With the division filled with top contenders, UFC has multiple options to book the undisputed lightweight title bout.

“Everyone wants the winner of this fight [Justin Gaethje vs. Paddy Pimblett] to fight Ilia Topuria. We’ll see how that plays out throughout the year,” said White.

Whether this points to a potential Ilia Topuria fight against Islam Makhachev at 170, shows support for Topuria as his break extends due to legal issues, or sets up an eventual matchup between the interim champion and Arman Tsarukyan if ‘El Matador’s return is delayed, the lightweight division remains unpredictable.

What do you expect from the future of the promotion’s lightweight division? Drop your predictions below.