Ilia Topuria is making a significant change to his team as he prepares for his pursuit of a second UFC divisional championship.
Reports indicate that the former featherweight champion has separated from his longtime coaches, brothers Jorge and Augustin Climent. This change comes just ahead of his highly anticipated bout for the vacant lightweight title against Charles Oliveira, scheduled to headline UFC 317 on June 28th.
Sources familiar with the situation emphasize that the parting is entirely amicable and stems purely from logistical factors. The decision was made due to the increasing difficulty in maintaining their previous training arrangements, primarily caused by busy schedules and the coaches residing in different cities. There are no underlying negative feelings or disputes involved in the separation.
Topuria recently vacated the UFC featherweight belt, citing that the process of making the 145-pound limit had become too challenging. He had expressed interest in a major lightweight clash against Islam Makhachev for the title. However, Makhachev is instead expected to move up to the welterweight division later this year to face the new champion, Jack Della Maddalena.
With Makhachev vacating the lightweight championship, the fight between Topuria and Oliveira is now set to cap off the UFC`s annual International Fight Week pay-per-view event, taking place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
