Preparing for the Topuria era

Mendez identifies attacking gaps

Ilia Topuria started his training camp for his next fight after his first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira to capture the 155-pound title in June. Training footage shows him throwing hard uppercuts and straight rights during sessions. His sparring partners ask him to work lighter because of the force he uses. Javier Mendez, the head coach at American Kickboxing Academy, says a fighter must use Muay Thai and knees to find success against him. Mendez identifies the kicking area as the weakest part of his game. He notes that while Topuria has decent wrestling and jiu-jitsu, opponents must test their own grappling to see if it exceeds his. Mendez added that Topuria is almost the complete package, but he is not. This assessment shows the opening for his next opponent. Topuria demonstrated his striking power when he gave Max Holloway the first stoppage defeat of his career at UFC 308. This power makes his training sessions particularly intense for his partners.

Volkanovski hunts rematch in Thailand

Alexander Volkanovski is in Phuket, Thailand, training with Aljamain Sterling and Craig Jones to prepare for his comeback. He is working at Bangtao, where he noted the presence of good bodies for training. This camp follows his loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, where the stoppage occurred in the second round. Volkanovski wants a rematch with Topuria, but the champion targets the lightweight division to fight Islam Makhachev on June 14, 2026. You should observe how the Phuket training affects his movement because Volkanovski’s path to the featherweight title remains complicated by Topuria’s plans to move to 155 pounds. Volkanovski held the featherweight title for four years before the defeat at UFC 298. This loss brought his record to three losses out of his last four fights, following two losses to Islam Makhachev. While he seeks Topuria, he could face Diego Lopes in an interim bout. Volkanovski previously beat Lopes in a dominant decision win this past April. Even though Evloev is a contender, Volkanovski has expressed interest in fighting the undefeated Russian. Max Holloway also expressed interest in moving to lightweight. Will the rematch happen if Topuria secures the lightweight gold first?

The January timeline and potential opponents

Topuria told reporters in Georgia that a January 2026 return is very possible. Because Topuria intends to pursue a second world title by moving to the lightweight division, the matchmaking for his potential January 2026 return involves names like Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje. He prefers a fight against Pimblett due to their history. Pimblett posted on Instagram that he wants to fight the fighter he calls "Hand Sanitizer Boy" to settle their rivalry. This rivalry stems from an incident where Topuria threw a bottle of disinfectant at the Brit and later shoved him in the octagon after beating Oliveira. Justin Gaethje’s camp also offered the 36-year-old veteran as a potential opponent for the champion. Gaethje would view a bout with Topuria as a way to cap his long career. Dana White stated that the inclusion of Topuria in the first Paramount+ main event is a possibility. The champion targets a fight with Makhachev for the White House card on June 14, 2026, to become a three-division champion. Topuria remains a significant star after his wins over Volkanovski and Holloway. He wants to fight any of the contenders to solidify his dominance.