Ilia Topuria may not enjoy watching UFC 324 from the sidelines.

Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images

The lightweight champion’s next opponent will likely be decided in Las Vegas on January 24, when the UFC’s $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount kicks off.

Beginning the partnership will be an interim title clash between Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje, who will be fighting for the newly created belt in the absence of the reigning lightweight king.

Topuria is currently on a UFC hiatus while he deals with personal issues away from the cage surrounding his divorce.

The Spaniard is expecting to return and resume his career later in 2026, but one UFC veteran is predicting he’ll do things wrong…

UFC veteran warns Ilia Topuria not to return too soon

Pimblett has suggested that Topuria may vacate the lightweight title due to his personal problems.

The topic of Topuria’s situation outside of the Octagon and his comeback came up during an episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer on MMA Fighting with UFC veteran Matt Brown.

Rather than relinquishing the title voluntarily, ‘The Immortal’ is predicting that Topuria will attempt to return too soon and end up losing his gold inside the cage as a result.

“Ilia comes back but the bolder prediction is that he loses,” Brown said.

“He comes back too soon, still dealing with all this bulls— and ends up losing because he’s not in the right headspace. I think Ilia’s a smart guy, that’s why I’m kind of on the fence about this prediction. … Fighters don’t like not fighting. They don’t like sitting on the sidelines.

“You can’t sit there and watch it. You want to be the guy in there. You want to be the one people are watching. I think he’s going to have that (issue),” he added.

“He’s healthy. Obviously he’s dealing with some pretty heavy s—, but he’s healthy. He wants to come back and compete and fight, and I think he’ll end up breaking to that, and he’ll end up coming back. But it’s not going to be a good time, and he’s going to be dealing with s—.”

Ilia Topuria lifts up UFC belt after beating Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298

Michael Chandler thinks Justin Gaethje would beat Ilia Topuria

One man who sees a path to Brown’s prediction coming true in 2026 is Michael Chandler.

Chandler thinks Justin Gaethje will beat Pimblett at UFC 324 before going on to dethrone Topuria upon his return to the sport.

“Gaethje is a whole different animal,” Chandler told ESPN MMA.

“So, if I had to bet, which I can’t, but if I had to lean one direction I’d go Justin Gaethje. Interim champion and then he beats Ilia Topuria later on this year,” he added.

Chandler has fought and lost to both Gaethje and Pimblett in the UFC. After a defeat in his war with ‘The Highlight’ over four years ago, ‘Iron’ was battered by ‘The Baddy’ in a third-round TKO last April.