Australia could soon have two UFC champions, with Alexander Volkanovski and Jack Della Maddalena set for world title shots in the coming months.
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UFC boss Dana White made the major announcements on Thursday afternoon, revealing that featherweight champion Ilia Topuria was vacating his belt with the plan to move up to lightweight.
White said Topuria does not have an opponent yet, but that the UFC are in the process of working to find him one and will announce his next fight when they do.
It means Volkanovski, who lost his crown to the Spanish sensation, will now have a chance to reclaim his throne against Diego Lopes at UFC 314 in Miami on April 12.
Volkanovski told foxsports.com.au earlier in the month that he was happy to face the hyped Brazilian for the interim featherweight strap, adding that it would have made an eventual rematch with Topuria all the more highly-anticipated.
Topuria though was non-commital when asked by foxsports.com.au at the time whether he was going to vacate the belt if he moved up to lightweight or try for double-champ status.
But speaking on a UFC livestream on Thursday, White said that Topuria “felt like he’s done all he can in that division”.
“He feels like he’s cemented his legacy and his body cannot make the weight anymore,” the UFC boss added.
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Topuria, who is 8-0 in the UFC and has finished all but one of his fights, quickly rose up the ranks in the division before dismantling Volkanovski at UFC 298 with a second-round knockout.
Former featherweight champion Max Holloway really made Topuria work in their UFC 308 world title fight, but once again the power of ‘El Matador’ proved too much.
That UFC 314 card will also feature a five-round match-up between Paddy Pimblett and Michael Chandler as the Brit, who is undefeated in the UFC, faces his biggest step-up in competition yet.
Meanwhile Della Maddalena, Australia’s fastest rising UFC star, will get his first shot at the welterweight title when he takes on Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in Canada on May 10.
Maddalena was scheduled to fight Leon Edwards in March, with the expectation that he would get a chance to face Muhammad if he got past the former champion.
But an injury to undefeated Kazakh phenom Shavkat Rakhmonov has opened the door for Della Maddalena, who has won the first seven fights on his UFC career and has a 17-fight MMA win streak dating back to 2016.
Edwards will now fight Sean Brady in London while Valentina Shevchenko will defend the women’s flyweight belt against Manon Fiorot in the UFC 315 co-main event.
UFC 314 FIGHT CARD
Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes — for featherweight title
Michael Chandler vs Paddy Pimblett — five-round lightweight co-main event
Yair Rodriguez vs Patricio Pitbull — featherweight
Geoff Neal vs Carlos Prates — welterweight
Nikita Krylov vs Dominick Reyes — light heavyweight
Dan Ige vs Sean Woodson — featherweight
Yan Xiaonan vs Virna Jandiroba — women’s strawweight
Jim Miller vs Chase Hooper — lightweight
UFC 315 FIGHT CARD
Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalenna — for welterweight title
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot — for flyweight title
Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Morales — welterweight
Alexa Grasso vs. Natalia Silva — flyweight
Bekzat Almakhan vs. Brad Katona — bantamweight
Nora Cornolle vs. Hailey Cowan — bantamweight
Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Bruno Silva — middleweight
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