Ilia Topuria is making a significant change as he prepares to compete for a second UFC title.
Sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the former featherweight king has separated from his longtime coaching duo, Jorge and Augustin Climent. This decision comes before his main event bout against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317, scheduled for June 28th.
Crucially, the split is amicable and based purely on logistical challenges. The demanding schedules and geographical distance between Topuria and the Climents made continuing the previous arrangement difficult. There is reportedly no animosity whatsoever on either side.
Topuria recently relinquished his UFC featherweight belt, citing increasing difficulty with the weight cut, as he prepares to move up to the lightweight division. He had expressed interest in a major showdown with Islam Makhachev for the 155-pound championship. However, Makhachev is set to challenge the new welterweight champion, Jack Della Maddalena, in a later fight.
Following Makhachev`s vacation of the lightweight strap, Topuria and Oliveira are now slated to headline the UFC`s annual International Fight Week pay-per-view event, taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
