Dana White is holding off on announcing any plans for Ilia Topuria.
The undefeated UFC lightweight champion is yet to book his first title defense since winning the 155-pound belt this past June with a stunning knockout over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. Following that triumph, Topuria was immediately confronted in the octagon by longtime rival Paddy Pimblett, which seemed to set up a future fight between them, but White has declined to publicly push that matchup.
Speaking to TNT Fight Sports, White was asked how close the grudge match is to fruition and he again shot it down, despite online rumors that Topuria and Pimblett could fight as early as January when the UFC kicks off its new broadcast deal with Paramount.
“We’re always exploring lots of different things,” White said. “Listen, obviously it’s a fun fight, people would like to see that. But I don’t know.
“As of right now, no, we haven’t made that fight. We’re trying to figure out what’s next for Topuria.”
Pimblett is currently No. 6 in the UFC’s official rankings, with several well-established names ahead of him. Though Pimblett could need to beat one of those names to make an airtight case for a title shot, his 7-0 UFC record and longstanding beef with Topuria could propel him into the lightweight championship fight sooner rather than later.
White was also asked about another British star yet to lose in the UFC, Lerone Murphy, who appears headed towards a shot at featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. However, like Pimblett, Murphy is still waiting for an official call and White says that’s another fight the matchmakers haven’t made a decision on yet.
“You want me to make, like, 10 fights right here while we’re doing this right here, right now?” White said. “Everything is possible. Everything is possible, but no, we haven’t made any of these fights yet.”
If there’s one thing Topuria fans can be excited about, it’s the possibility of him booking a fight in Spain. “El Matador” has long wanted to bring event to his home country, particularly to the world famous Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.
White was asked if there are plans to bring a Topuria fight to Spain or perhaps have dominant bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili defend his belt in his native Georgia, and the UFC CEO agreed those ideas make sense.
“Absolutely,” White said. “No-brainers.”
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