"Matchmaking was today" - Dana White drops major hint about Ilia Topuria's chances of fighting on first Paramount UFC card

Dana White dropped some information about the upcoming UFC card after the Paramount+ deal comes into play.

The UFC signed a reported $7.7billion deal with the media giants and will end their partnership with ESPN at the end of this year.

2026 could be huge for the UFC, and there is a lot of interest in who gets to fight on the big Paramount card in January.

The UFC president was asked about the card and was asked if there were any special plans.

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“Literally today, matchmaking was today and we started working on the first Paramount card today,” replied White.

He was then asked about the potential of seeing Ilia Topuria on the card, and White said it was possible.

Check out Dana White's comments below:

Topuria is the current UFC lightweight champion and a former UFC featherweight title holder. The Georgian-Spaniard is also the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC and is undefeated in his MMA career.

Topuria featuring on the first Paramount card makes sense. His last three wins have been against incredible opponents, Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira, and all of them have come via KOs.

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Who does Ilia Topuria fight next?

There are no lack of options for Topuria when it comes to his next fight. Islam Makhachev, who vacated the lightweight title, would have been a great option, but the Dagestani star fights Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight crown at UFC 322.

It would provide Makhachev a few months to train for this fight. This would be a blockbuster fight with the No.1 and No.2 pound-for-pound stars in the UFC.

The other options are other lightweight contenders. Arman Tsarukyan has been hounding Topuria for a fight. The Armenian is No.2 in the lightweight rankings but last fought in April 2024 when he beat Charles Oliveira.

However, he would have to go past Dan Hooker first, whom he faces in November. Then we have Paddy Pimblett. The English star is undefeated in the UFC and is coming off an impressive win over Michael Chandler.

Pimblett has been calling out Topuria as well. The final name on the list is Justin Gaethje. The American is a former interim lightweight champion, and some rumors suggest that he will face Topuria next.

Edited by Saiyed Adeem Karim