Ilia Topuria has named the UFC fighter that he never wants to fight again.

From his 2020 debut, Topuria took the UFC by storm, establishing himself as one of the sport's most fearsome finishers. However, he is now preparing to make a comeback to the Octagon after suffering his first career defeat.

Over a stunning three-fight stretch, he knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira, winning the featherweight and lightweight belts in the process. When coming up against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250, much of the consensus was that 'The Highlight' was about to be another name on Topuria's growing CV. But it wasn't to be.

Over four punishing rounds, Gaethje had the upper hand, until Topuria's corner ended the fight before going into the fifth. The former two-weight champion sustained significant injuries, but is now nearing a return.

There is one man, though, that Topuria refuses to meet again - but it's not Gaethje.

Ilia Topuria Will Refuse to Face Opponent He Has Previously Beaten

Having lost by knockout to Islam Makhachev when challenging for the lightweight belt, Alexander Volkanovski, one of the greatest fighters in UFC history, returned to featherweight to defend his title against Topuria.

'El Matador', however, also finished the fight by way of knockout in the second, leaving Volk in a tough spot.

Whereas for others, though, it may have marked the beginning of the end, the Australian has since rebounded to regain his featherweight crown when defeating Diego Lopes. He beat Lopes again in front of a hometown crowd in Sydney, before most recently retaining his title with a TKO win over Movsar Evloev at UFC 333.

Now, as Volkanovski looks to his own future, he's expressed his interest in rematching Topuria to try and get that one back. "At lightweight, you know like, if it was going to be for a lightweight title then yeah, that would be great because to get that win back as well, Gaethje took that 0 off him, I can’t say I could get the chance to do that, but to get that win back would be great," he said.

"I’ve got nothing against him, he’s a great fighter and a great dude, but at the same time, I’m a competitor and I would love to test myself against him."

Topuria, however, has no interest in giving Volkanovski his wish - but for oddly heartwarming reasons.

During a recent interview with MMA reporter Álvaro Colmenero he admitted: "I have so much affection and respect for him that I couldn't hit him," he has since said. "I like him too much."

He believes it would be a competitive fight, despite having knocked him out already, and was full of praise for his former opponent. "For me, he’s the best featherweight that has ever existed, the most dominant. I was the champion, and I’ve done things that nobody else has done, but I left the division. He’s done much more at that weight than I have. It’s been many years."

Who Does Ilia Topuria Want to Fight Next?

While he does not want it to be Volkanovski standing across him in the Octagon, Topuria is interested in facing one of his other former opponents: Justin Gaethje.

Despite the injuries he picked up against the American, Topuria has assured him that their story is far from over, promising "more chapters" and that their rematch will happen at some point.

"I don't think that he's going to retire without one more paycheck, because he's not going to have that paycheck with any other opponent," he said.

With that said, he has also expressed an openness to fighting Arman Tsarukyan and Liverpool's own Paddy Pimblett too with his confidence in himself seemingly unshaken, describing both as the "biggest fight" of both his prospective opponent's lives. "That tells you that I'm the fight right now in the division."

Topuria is set to return to contact training in January, giving him several months before returning to action from April onwards. Who he faces remains to be seen, but there is little doubt it will be one of the most hotly anticipated fights on the UFC calendar in 2027 when he does make his return.