Following Ilia Topuria’s recent decision to vacate the UFC featherweight title, UFC president Dana White addressed the topic of double champions in the promotion in the wake of UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Song on Saturday.
White emphasized that the UFC does not discourage fighters from aiming for multiple championships. However, he clarified that those who choose this path must be prepared for an intense schedule.
“The key is whether or not you think you can defend both titles,” White shared with reporters at the post-fight press conference following Saturday's event at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. “If a fighter believes they can juggle both and successfully defend both belts, and has already achieved so much, I’m all for it. But it’s a lot of work.”
“It’s a different situation unless a fighter has dominated their division, like Jon Jones did in light heavyweight before moving up to heavyweight", he continued. "With Ilia, I understand his decision. Given the opponents he's beaten and how he's done it, it's reasonable for him to consider moving up to 155 after being tired of cutting weight. It makes sense. Weili Zhang is another example. She’s accomplished nearly everything in her weight class, and I have no issue with that. It’s always looked at individually. My stance hasn’t changed, it’s about each case.”
In UFC history, four fighters have held two titles simultaneously: Henry Cejudo, Daniel Cormier, Conor McGregor, and Amanda Nunes, while others like BJ Penn, Randy Couture, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre and Alex Periera have held titles in seperate divisions at seperate intervals.
Topuria, 28, chose to relinquish his featherweight title to avoid stalling the division. His next steps in the octagon, however, are still unclear. Rumors are circulating that "El Matador" will face lightweight champ Islam Makhachev during International Fight Week in June, although Topuria also recetly floated the idea of fighting some other top names at 155 lbs such as Dustin Poirier or Justin Gaethje.
