Ilia Topuria has revealed his new “identity” as he begins a journey toward two-division UFC championship glory in the coming months.
Topuria is set to embark on a new pursuit of gold this year after choosing to vacate the featherweight title after just one defense.
Though a rematch with the man from whom he took the belt last February, Alexander Volkanovski, was expected after his knockout of Max Holloway to retain possession of the title, a desire to bid farewell to the difficult weight cut has seen Topuria commit to a permanent move up.
The Spaniard is hoping to immediately challenge the lightweight reign of Islam Makhachev, but recent reports have claimed that the Dagestani is looking to have Topuria fight a contender to earn the shot first.
Regardless of who stands opposite the European star next time out, they won’t be facing “El Matador.”
After revealing plans to ditch his longtime moniker last week, Topuria has seemingly confirmed that he will now be entering the cage as “La Leyenda,” which translates to “The Legend.”
That news was reported by Georgian reporter Giorgi Kokiashvili.
With a new nickname in a new weight class, Ilia Topuria will soon be hoping to have a new piece of gold added to his trophy cabinet on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.
