He previously reigned as featherweight king, knocking out all-time greats Alexander Oliveira and Max Holloway in championship bouts. While Topuria is relishing his accomplishment, it was slightly dimmed by Oliveira not being the incumbent champion.

Joe Rogan is urging the UFC to book Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria. In Saturday's UFC 317 main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) knocked out Charles Oliveira (35-11 MMA, 23-11 UFC) to claim the vacant lightweight title, which Makhachev recently relinquished for a move up to 170 pounds.