Remember Amanda Nunes moving up to 145lbs to challenge Cris Cyborg for her featherweight gold? Or when Daniel Cormier took it upon himself to mend his legacy and move to 265lbs and challenge the consensus heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic for the belt. Or more recently, Alexander Volkanovski moving to lightweight, not once but twice, to stake his claim as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and also to realise the fabled double champ status. Do you see a pattern here?

Well, it’s evident to say the least. All three legends dared to dream, but while keeping their reality intact. And that reality was to keep their 10 pounds of gold close to their heart, and more importantly, to get the chance to become simultaneous double champs. And it seems that the era of concurrent double champs seems to be at an end!

As you may have noticed, lately, no UFC champions have been able to move up to a higher division before vacating the title they already hold. Ilia Topuria, who was on a Conor McGregor-like arc, had to vacate his featherweight title before moving up to 155 pounds. Islam Makhachev, of course, wanted to keep his lightweight title in his bid to win the welterweight title against Jack Della Maddalena. But the UFC had other plans and refused to let the Dagestani keep his title.

So now Makhachev has vacated his title, which will be up for grabs at UFC 317 between Topuria and Charles Oliveira. But the reality of the matter persists. If there was anyone in the UFC at the moment who deserved to move up and keep their title, it was Islam Makhachev. After all, the Makhachkala native is the pound-for-pound #1 fighter in the division, has looked nigh unstoppable, registered 4 emphatic defenses (most in 155-pound history), and is disciplined enough that he could keep defending two titles at once.

But no, Dana White and Co. seems to have adopted a firm vacate-before-you-move-up policy. And while some fans may not like this policy, fan favorite former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is completely on board. “I do love the new trend. UFC are making champions relinquish their titles before moving up. I think it’s great for the division, I think it’s great. It doesn’t hold up anything. Obviously, they’re still going to be double champs, like going up, and then they can come straight back down and fight for the title again. Like, I think, they deserve that if they’re successful,” Whittaker said on his ‘MMArcade’ podcast.

To be fair, in ‘The Reaper’s perfect scenario, concurrent double champs are not out of the realm of possibility. The Kiwi legend feels that if, say for instance, Makhachev beats the Aussie to win the welterweight title, he should be given the chance to fight for the undisputed lightweight title in his next fight.

But that isn’t really what the UFC seems to want. Dana White and Co. don’t really seem to like the idea of champions moving weight classes because of the uncertainty it creates. Until the champ is ready to put in extra work and defend both the titles one after the other, as clarified by the Bossman a few months ago.

So if a champion decides to move up for whatever reason, the promotion wants to keep the title in play and let the division move on. And that is perhaps why Ilia Topuria’s recent warning for Makhachev is one the Dagestani should take seriously.

Ilia Topuria wants Islam Makhachev to ‘get in line’ if he wins lightweight title at UFC 317

When Ilia Topuria moved up to lightweight earlier this year, Islam Makhachev absolutely refused to let him fight for the title right away, which infuriated ‘El Matador’. And now that Topuria is set to fight for the vacant undisputed lightweight title at UFC 317 on June 28, the Spanish national has vowed to make sure Makhachev doesn’t get to fight for the 155lbs strap in the near future.

“After this fight, when I have the belt, he can get in line, which is a long one, and someone’s eyes will be shining,” Topuria said at a recent press conference. This means that if Topuria wins the undisputed 155-pound strap during International Fight Week, Makhachev will have to earn his title shot if he wants to come back to lightweight.

This means that Islam Makhachev better win the welterweight title in his next fight, or he will have nothing. He would either have to move back to 155 pounds, where Topuria, if he becomes champion, will treat him like the runt of the litter. Or, Makhachev could stay at 170lbs, which has become full of promising contenders overnight.

Neither seems like a very good scenario for the guy who didn’t lose his title in a fight and is the current pound-for-pound king of the UFC. What do you think about Whittaker’s opinion on the UFC’s new policy? Let us know in the comment section below!