Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion Ilia Topuria said she will not be defending her title in the first quarter of 2026 due to personal matters.
"I will not be competing in the first quarter of next year. I am going through a difficult time in my personal life," Ilia Topuria wrote on her social media account, which was monitored in Jakarta on Monday.
Topuria captured the lightweight title by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June. The victory marked a two-division title, having previously held the UFC featherweight (145.8 kg) title.
The Spanish fighter moved up to the lightweight division to target the then-champion, Islam Makhachev.
However, Makhachev got a chance to win a two-division title when his teammate Belal Muhammad lost his welterweight (157.1 kg) title after losing to Jack Della Maddalena.
The Dagestan, Russia-based star eventually left the lightweight division and moved up to welterweight to face Maddalena and defeated her to claim the UFC two-division title.
