Din Thomas: 'Delusion' led to Ilia Topuria vacating UFC featherweight title
03/01/2025 09:15 AM
UFC analyst Din Thomas is surprised and impressed at Ilia Topuria’s decision to voluntarily vacate the UFC featherweight championship.
Reaching the pinnacle of the sport to capture a UFC belt is an experience only few get in their MMA careers. Topuria (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) did that with an undefeated run to the top, taking out Alexander Volkanovski to claim gold, then knocking out Max Holloway in October for his first defense.
It seemed Topuria was poised to make a legendary imprint on the 145-pound division, but he cut it short. UFC CEO Dana White announced Topuria is vacating the strap to move to lightweight, citing a lack of new goals and a difficult time cutting down to the featherweight limit.
Thomas, a longtime MMA veteran who now serves as a prominent ESPN and UFC analyst, isn’t sold on the reasoning presented for Topuria, and viewed it more as a product of the unwavering confidence he’s presented throughout his career.
“It’s wild to me that he’s giving this up now,” Thomas told MMA Junkie. “There’s no way a guy gives up pay-per-view points and his status as UFC champion, this soon, for no apparent reason, and no real reason other than he can’t make the weight. I don’t necessarily buy that. He’s a young guy. It may be uncomfortable for him to make the weight, but I don’t necessarily believe that he can’t make the weight.
“But if he wants to go up? Let him go up, but it comes from a place of just, that Jon Jones level of confidence, and maybe a bit of delusion that you have to have to be a good fighter. But to think that you are just going to give up the belt, and ‘No problem, I’ll just go get it at lightweight,’ is such a wild way, such a crazy, delusional way of thinking.”
Thomas said he is warm to the idea of Topuria, 28 getting an immediate 155-pound title shot against Islam Makhachev. It’s an all-in move, and Thomas suggested the door is still open to return to featherweight is things don’t go his way.
Ultimately, Thomas is a fan of greatness in the sport. Only a select group get to reach the highest of levels in terms of accomplishments, but Topuria is still on the doorstep of that.
Whether or not Topuria can achieve such heights remains to be seen. However, Thomas said the mental side is all there, it’s just a matter of whether he can continue to follow through in the octagon.
“In order to be that good, you have to be that delusional,” Thomas said. “Jon Jones is that delusional, he just doesn’t think he can be beat. You have to think that way. There are a lot of guys that think that way, but they’re not that good. To think that way and also be that good is crazy. But Ilia Topuria is that good. He thinks that way. But we’re living in wild times. We may be looking at somebody special. I don’t want to say he’s not just yet. If he is that dude, I’m glad to be a part of it. But I still have my reservations on that thought, because not many people are that good and are that delusional at the same time.”
To hear more from Thomas talk Topuria and his future, watch the video above for his complete appearance on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.
