Ilia Topuria may be the biggest active star in the sport of MMA at the moment. Alex Pereira doesn’t have quite the same sheen he once had after losing his title to Magomed Ankalaev. Israel Adesanya is 0-3 in his last three, and fans are starting to question whether or not he is over the hill. In the meantime, the bombastic, confident-to-the-point-of-cocky, knockout-artist Topuria has emerged as a legend killer and the most exciting guy to watch in the sport.

The Spanish-Georgian superstar, of course, is set to face Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira for the lightweight title at UFC 317 on June 28. Kai Kara-France is set to fight Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title in the co-main event of the International Fight Week card. And the soft-spoken Kiwi flyweight star, is not relishing the prospect of fighting on the same card as ‘El Matador’ for one main reason.

“I’ll tell you now, I don’t know the exact main event, but I’m hearing that it’s Ilia and Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title, for the card that I’ll be on, the co-main. I’ll be the co-main for that, So, massive card, any fight with Ilia is going to be, you know, it’s going to be a hard one to get knock out of the night because he’s probably going to get it,” Kara-France told ‘CombatTV’ in an interview a couple of weeks ago.

Indeed, Topuria does have a knack for entertaining knockouts, coming off of fantastic knockouts over two of the greatest featherweights in his last two fights. Not to mention he has won a $50k Fight or Performance of the Night bonus in his last five fights. Of course, some would say that ‘Don’t Blink’ should be stoked to be fighting on the same card as the former featherweight champ since the card is sure to do big numbers.

But Kara-France is not champion and perhaps not going to get a share of the PPV cut. If that is true, then the only way he makes more money from UFC 317 than his purse (including the win bonus) is to get a $50k bonus. And while the Kiwi flyweight may be concerned about the $50k bonus, Topuria is targeting a much bigger prize after UFC 317.

Ilia Topuria’s brother claims Islam Makhachev clash could happen at 170

Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev would have been a super-fight. Topuria, of course, is undefeated and looks unstoppable. On the other hand, Makhachev is on a fifteen-fight win streak, is the pound-for-pound #1 fighter in the UFC, and looks unbeatable. But with the Dagestani moving up to 170 to fulfill his long-standing burning desire of being a double champion, Makhachev-Topuria is dead on arrival.

But in good news for MMA fans, that may change soon. At least that is what Ilia Topuria’s brother, Aleksandre has claimed. “The perfect scenario would be for Ilia to win, for Islam to win in the welterweight division, and then for Ilia to fight for a third belt. Historic,” Aleksandre said in a recent interview.

Would the UFC allow Topuria to move up if he becomes lightweight champ and fight Makhachev if he becomes the welterweight champ? Maybe or maybe not. But the UFC was pretty keen to make Makhachev-Topuria at lightweight, so it may well do it at welterweight since it would make them a lot of money. But first, Topuria needs to beat Oliveira, which Kai Kara-France would be hoping doesn’t come via a bonus-worthy knockout. What do you think about Kara-France’s comments about fighting on the same card as Topuria?