Ilia Topuria vacates featherweight title
UFC 314 will dictate the future of the division
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The MMA Notebook runs every Friday.
In this edition:
Exploring Ilia Topuria vacating the featherweight title–and Dana White’s major announcements for UFC 314
Henry Cejudo is in a must-win position
Rob Font has a new opponent, but objective remains the same
Weekend predictions
Making sense of Ilia Topuria vacating featherweight title
Ilia Topuria has vacated the UFC Featherweight Championship.
That piece of news came from UFC CEO Dana White on Thursday night, but he didn’t stop there. White also detailed the future of the featherweight division, which will commence this April at UFC 314 with Alexander Volkanovski in a headline bout against Diego Lopes to determine the new champ.
This is outstanding news for Volkanovski, who was knocked out by Topuria last year, as he can rule the division one last time–and avoid Topuria. But age is a factor for Volkanovski, 36, who has also been knocked out in his last two bouts. Either way for the UFC, it is a win–either Volkanovski runs it back one more time as champ, or Lopes begins a whole new era for the division.
Lopes, 30, is hungry–and he’s won five in a row. If this marks the start of his first title reign, it will be fitting that it goes through Volkanovski.
The 314 card also features the debut of Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, who will face Yair Rodriguez in a featherweight bout. The reigning Bellator featherweight champ, Freire, 37, was beyond frustrated with management since PFL took over the company, leading to his long-awaited UFC debut.
The worry about Freire’s move to the UFC, of course, is that it comes too late. If Freire wins, it creates a complicated title picture–the undefeated Movsar Evloev, who owns a win against Lopes, has been left out of all this commotion, and he is also deserving of a title shot. But it would be tough to deny Freire if he can put away Rodriguez.
It was especially appropriate that White also announced Michael Chandler, Freire’s long time Bellator rival, for the UFC 314 card. With the rare chance of a fight against Conor McGregor dwindling, Chandler accepted the co-main event against Paddy Pimblett. Even better, it is a five-rounder.
This should finally solve the question of whether Pimblett is a top-tier lightweight. It is a significant bout for Chandler, too, who has lost four of his last five. In order to be the fighter he projects to be, Chandler needs to win some fights, beginning with this one.
As for Topuria, the move to lightweight makes sense. Dana White noted that the weight cut was too difficult for Topuria, 28, who can now move to lightweight and challenge Islam Makhachev. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle–White was better off being proactive and vacating the belt if Topuria had no further plans at featherweight. White’s announcement created instant excitement, which is a whole lot better than Topuria moving to lightweight while still carrying the featherweight belt and leaving the division in a state of limbo.
If Topuria can defeat Makhachev, that would give him back-to-back-to-back wins against Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Makhachev. That would be in play for the most impressive win streak in modern-day UFC history. Clearly, there is far more for Topuria to chase at lightweight, making the move at the perfect time.
Henry Cejudo looking to reclaim past glory on Saturday night
The last time Henry Cejudo lost back-to-back fights, he ripped off six wins in a row, winning the UFC Flyweight Championship and the UFC Bantamweight Championship in the process.
That was five years ago. But it feels even longer.
In Cejudo’s defense, ever since returning in 2023, he has only lost to elite opponents. The first defeat came against Aljamain Sterling in an incredibly close bout at UFC 288 in May of 2023. It was a different story at UFC 298 in February of 2024, when Cejudo was overpowered by Merab Dvalishvili. Besides winning one round, that fight was controlled by Dvalishvili.
Cejudo, 38, seeks to reclaim his place in the sport when he headlines tomorrow’s Fight Night against Song Yadong. Somewhat surprisingly, given his pedigree, Cejudo (16-4) enters the bout as the underdog. Song (21–8–1, 1 NC) was beaten soundly by Petr Yan eleven months ago, the last time we saw him compete. The fact that Song is eleven years younger than Cejudo matters, as this is a sport that does not reward its older veterans.
If Cejudo loses tomorrow and drops his third straight, we may very well see him leave his gloves in the Octagon. No one wants to see the former Olympic gold medalist lose his luster by falling into a three-fight losing streak.
But I don’t think this is the end for Cejudo. He holds a strong grappling advantage against Song, and should be able to land his takedowns. Cejudo was more of a standup fighter in his bouts against Sterling and Dvalishvili, but those are elite grapplers who are nearly impossible to keep down–as opposed to Song, who is more dangerous on his feet.
For older fighters, the decline is usually visible. That hasn’t been the case–at least not yet–with Cejudo, who feels primed for a victory tomorrow night. This feels destined to go the distance, with Cejudo getting back in the win column for the first time since 2020.
Missing out on Dominick Cruz–but we’ll see if the hype is real for Jean Matsumoto
Tomorrow night was supposed to be another chance to see Dominick Cruz.
Unfortunately, that will not be the case.
Due to mounting injuries, Cruz, 39, announced his retirement due to mounting injuries. He was unable to properly train for his fight against Rob Font (who will now face undefeated Jean Matsumoto), which means we get one less chance to see him compete.
There is no replacing Cruz. But it will be fascinating to see how Matsumoto (16-0) does on this stage. Only 25, Matsumoto could jump into the bantamweight rankings with a win against Font (21-8), even though the bout is being fought at a catchweight of 140 pounds.
A loss for Font would be his fifth in seven fights. I’d say Font, 37, hasn’t been the same fighter since taking so much damage in a 2022 bout that should have been stopped against Chito Vera, but he won his last fight in October, overwhelming Kyler Phillips and winning by unanimous decision. Matsumoto has an undefeated record, but he struggled to beat Brad Katona in his last fight. Prior to that, he had a difficult time dealing with Dan Argueta’s wrestling. Font is on a different level than both of those fighters.
Even if the odds tell you otherwise, Matsumoto feels out of place as the favorite. I’m sticking with the proven entity in Font.
The Pick ‘Em Section
UFC Fight Night bantamweight bout: Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong
Pick: Henry Cejudo
UFC Fight Night middleweight bout: Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez
Pick: Anthony Hernandez
UFC Fight Night featherweight bout: Melsik Baghdasaryan vs. Jean Silva
Pick: Jean Silva
UFC Fight Night catchweight (140-lbs) bout: Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto
Pick: Rob Font
UFC Fight Night light heavyweight bout: Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker
Pick: Alonzo Menifield