UFC legend reveals who Topuria's next opponent could be: "I think it's Charles Oliveira"

What once seemed to be practically a done deal is now getting complicated. After Dana White made it official that Topuria would be leaving featherweight to move up to lightweight , many expected the champion versus champion fight to be announced: Ilia Topuria versus Islam Makhachev . However, nothing was revealed, and the latest statements by the Spanish-Georgian's team make it seem that the rival team, Makhachev's, is rejecting the fight.

They themselves have stated this, as they consider that Topuria should fight at lightweight to legitimize him as the next contender. Among the names they propose are Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira . The first option seems the furthest away, while the Brazilian is one that Ilia himself asked for when he said he wanted to move up to 155 pounds.

With uncertainty surrounding how the lightweight division will play out with the new addition of El Matador, one UFC legend has offered a possible solution to the puzzle with his next opponent. “ I think it’s Charles Oliveira . You put Topuria and Oliveira together, they fight relatively early, while Islam is in Ramadan. And you put them together with the guarantee that one of these guys will get a title shot,” former two-time champion Daniel Cormier noted on his YouTube channel.

With this in mind, the American indicates that the winner of this duel would fight, directly, Islam Makhachev before the end of the year . A date that could fit would be in October, when the UFC lands in Abu Dhabi. In addition, Cormier assures that "this is one of those fights that you could do as a main event of a pay-per-view that doesn't even need a title. If you do Topuria vs Charles Oliveira everyone accepts it," he says.

However, it is not possible to draw any conclusions yet, and this could change at any moment. In addition, the situation has been constantly changing in recent days, so until the company makes anything official, everything that is said is speculation. At the moment, everything points to Charles Oliveira, but the door is still not completely closed for Makhachev .