Ilia Topuria is eager to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title, despite Khabib Nurmagomedov advocating for Arman Tsarukyan‘s shot, as Topuria believes Nurmagomedov is protecting Makhachev and aims to prove himself by winning his next fight at 155 pounds.
Ilia Topuria’s got his eyes on Islam Makhachev’s UFC title, and he believes the lightweight champ’s team is dodging him. Bold move, right? In a recent chat, Khabib Nurmagomedov—Makhachev’s buddy and mentor—argued that Arman Tsarukyan deserves the next shot at Makhachev, not Topuria. The wheels seem to be turning for Topuria to face Makhachev soon, especially after he gave up his featherweight belt to switch divisions. But nothing’s set in stone yet. Nurmagomedov thinks Topuria should win his next fight at 155 pounds before getting a title shot.
Topuria wasn’t having it. He hopped on social media to clap back at Nurmagomedov, saying he’s just trying to shield his fighter. “Khabib knows I’m the one to take the belt from Islam,” Topuria wrote. “Only reason he doesn’t want Islam to fight me.” Talk about confidence!
With a 6-0 start in his UFC career, including a wild comeback knockout against Jai Herbert, Topuria’s definitely on a roll. He even knocked out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 and then Max Holloway at UFC 308. Those wins over two MMA legends? Huge. He became the first to beat Volkanovski in a 145-pound bout and the only one to finish Holloway via strikes.
Topuria might just leapfrog into title contention since Tsarukyan missed his chance due to a back injury before UFC 311. Tough break for Tsarukyan, who had been on a 9-1 run after losing to Makhachev in his UFC debut back in 2019. Dana White wasn’t thrilled and said Tsarukyan needs to earn another shot.
As for Makhachev, his future plans could depend on the UFC 315 main event between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. Makhachev has shown interest in moving up to welterweight for a two-division champ status but has held back because of his friendship with Muhammad.
If Della Maddalena pulls off an upset against Muhammad, that might clear the path for Makhachev to jump divisions and become the top contender at welterweight. That could leave Topuria battling another big name at 155 pounds, potentially for a vacant or interim lightweight title. Exciting times ahead!