Islam Makhachev earned Jack Della Maddalena title shot after UFC 315, but Ilia Topuria the bigger fight

Jesse Holland is among the longest-tenured media professionals in the combat sports news space, covering MMA, professional wrestling and boxing on a full-time basis since early 2004.

Reigning UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, has effectively cleaned out the 155-pound division, and did everything the promotion asked of him in hopes of one day punching his own ticket to the exclusive “champ-champ” club.

That time is now.

Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad to capture the welterweight crown atop the UFC 315 pay-per-view (PPV) event last Sat. night (May 10, 2025) inside Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a five-round banger that nabbed a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus for both combatants.

There's just one problem.

Former UFC featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, recently surrendered his 145-pound strap to try his luck in the lightweight division. “La Leyenda” insisted he had little to prove at featherweight after knocking out former champions Alex Volkanovski and Max Holloway in back-to-back title fights.

No argument here.

I would, however, argue that Makhachev vs. Topuria is a much bigger fight than Makhachev vs. Della Maddalena. In addition, the welterweight division has several big names ready for a crack at the 170-pound crown, including the No. 1-ranked Sean Brady, the resurgent Ian Garry, and the winner of Joaquin Buckley vs. Kamaru Usman.

Blame Shavkat Rakhmonov for the welterweight logjam.

Topuria is expected to face former champion Charles Oliveira if Makhachev jumps to welterweight, a fight that may be for an interim strap since Makhachev refuses to vacate his 155-pound throne. It’s also worth mentioning that Della Maddalena took five rounds of abuse in his Muhammad win, so we probably won’t get that showdown until fall.

Seems like all we do these days is wait for title fights.

“It’s a beautiful challenge, I’m gonna get it back for Volk,” Della Maddalena said after the fight, referring to Makhachev’s two wins over former featherweight champion, Alex Volkanovski.

“You are not Volk,” Makhachev replied on social media. “I will show you different level. Keep my belt clean.”

For more UFC 315 results and fallout click here.