Conor McGregor came to Ilia Topuria’s defense after the champion declared his plans to walk away from the Octagon by the time he hits his physical prime.

Ilia Topuria is on the verge of potentially vacating the UFC featherweight title in favor of a permanent lightweight move. Conor McGregor, who has had his fair share of public quarrels with Topuria, surprisingly came to Topuria’s defense about his future in the Octagon.

Topuria appeared set for a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski for his next title defense. But, he’s since pivoted on that stance, as he admitted in a recent interview with Spanish broadcaster Juanma Castaño.

“I’m 27, I hope to be out by 30,” Topuria said. “Right now, in my division, I no longer have the motivation to defend the belt anymore.

“Now I want to move up a [weight class] and we’ll see how everything goes.”

Topuria wants to potentially move up to lightweight and face former champion Charles Oliveira next year. As of this writing, Oliveira nor the UFC brass responded to Topuria’s remarks and plans to vacate the featherweight belt.

McGregor, who vacated the featherweight title after knocking out José Aldo, understands where Topuria is coming from when it comes to his exit plan.

Conor McGregor slams Ilia Topuria’s critics of announced UFC exit plan

In a recent post to X, McGregor reacted to Topuria’s comments about retirement.

“Heres the truth that will hurt all the little wannabe nobodies,” McGregor tweeted.

“Fighting was too easy for me, I done it all by 27 years old.”

McGregor’s defense of Topuria is surprising on multiple levels. Topuria violently threatened McGregor after his recent featherweight title defense against Max Holloway at UFC 308, following McGregor’s invitation to ‘meet him in Marbella’.

If Topuria moves up to lightweight, he’d look to become the latest two-division champion in UFC history, joining the ranks of McGregor and other legends. McGregor hasn’t fought since a loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

Ilia Topuria’s UFC future uncertain after recent comments

McGregor was supposed to return to the Octagon at UFC 303 against Michael Chandler, before withdrawing due to a toe injury. Chandler remains optimistic about making the McGregor fight come to fruition after a loss to Oliveira at UFC 309.

Topuria earned the UFC featherweight title by knocking out Volkanovski at UFC 298 earlier this year. He’s unbeaten in his professional career with recent wins over Josh Emmett, Bryce Mitchell, and Jai Herbert.

Before their relationship fell into turmoil, Topuria praised McGregor numerous times during his career and called him out after winning the belt at UFC 298. But McGregor hasn’t fought at 145lbs since the Aldo knockout, and his current physical frame makes a featherweight return nearly impossible.

If Topuria is serious about retiring in the middle of his physical prime, he’d be the latest UFC star to potentially walk away on top. Khabib Nurmagomedov retired in 2020 following a win over Justin Gaethje, fulfilling a promise to his mother following the tragic death of his father.

In addition to the ongoing Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall negotiations, it seems as though the UFC brass has other pressing business to attend to if Topuria’s remarks are sincere. 2025 could feature a shakeup in the UFC featherweight division if Topuria decides to leave for a lightweight pursuit.