Chael Sonnen says the UFC lightweight division can’t wait for champion Ilia Topuria.
Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) announced the he plans on taking extended time off after having to deal with ongoing legal issues with his ex-wife. As a result, the promotion booked Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett in an interim title bout in the UFC 324 headliner on Jan. 24.
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Although Sonnen empathizes with Topuria, he doesn’t see his reason as valid enough to allow him to hold on to the title without defending it.
“I’m going to dance, I’m going to do a little tiptoe, but I was at the Apex a week ago. I had a conversation with a very meaningful person in this industry, and that was the first person who ever suggested to me that Ilia be stripped,” Sonnen said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “And I was a little surprised by it. Their argument, though, was that the interim belt is for those who are dealing with an illness or an injury. If we would like to show grace to an undisputed champion because he’s missing matches specifically for illness or injury, and the moment Ilia informs us that he is missing matches for anything outside the criteria of illness or injury, that’s when you strip him.
“I thought it was very cold, and I didn’t like that. I thought about it, and there’s actually a point to that. … You’ve got to be stripped. I think that is a fair point. I don’t want him stripped. I’m on Ilia’s side of this. I don’t really like what he’s going through. I also think he’s innocent. He seems like a really good guy. I don’t think he would have done these things. However, they’ve got to strip him. If he’s not making the claim that he’s injured and has some kind of a doctor’s report to back it up, as bogus as those can be, he’s got to be stripped.”
Topuria did not make any mention of vacating his belt when releasing his statement. The 28-year-old revealed that he’s facing allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife and will spend the upcoming time trying to handle the situation.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Why Chael Sonnen thinks Ilia Topuria should be stripped of UFC title
