Ilia Topuria has declared that he intends to make things difficult for Islam Makhachev if the Dagestani fighter ever decides to compete in the UFC lightweight division again.
With an opportunity to compete for the now-vacant 155-pound championship against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June, Topuria expressed enthusiasm for the chance to add another belt to his accomplishments, even though his desired fight was against Makhachev. Instead, Makhachev is slated to move up a weight class to challenge the new welterweight champion, Jack Della Maddalena, later this year. However, Makhachev has hinted at the possibility of returning to lightweight in the future to reclaim his title.
Much like Makhachev showed limited interest in facing Topuria when Topuria ascended from featherweight, “El Matador” is now returning the sentiment. He insists that if the number one pound-for-pound fighter returns to lightweight, he will need to earn his opportunity for a title shot.
Speaking during a press conference promoting his upcoming bout, Topuria commented on the situation:
“You know from the beginning, he wanted to give the impression that he had some sort of decision [to make]. He also said about a week ago ‘My move up to welterweight isn’t going to matter because I’m not planning on vacating my title.’ You remember that right? And I had said before that, I didn’t move up to lightweight to ask anyone for anything and that I was the one in charge.
So who got their way, who did what they said? As always, him or me? So after this fight when I have the belt, he can get in line, which is a long one and someone’s eyes will be shining.”
Indeed, Makhachev had initially stated that his move to welterweight would not result in him giving up his lightweight title, but the situation ultimately played out differently. Similar to how Topuria vacated his featherweight championship when moving up, Makhachev also had to relinquish his lightweight title to pursue a second belt in the welterweight division.
As a result, neither fighter will achieve “champ-champ” status in this particular scenario. Topuria, however, has made it clear that his future remains solely in the lightweight division, citing the difficulties he experienced making the 145-pound featherweight limit.
While Makhachev`s future plans regarding a potential lightweight return are not entirely certain, it is evident that Topuria is ready to flip the script on him. Topuria`s stance is that the former champion will have to work his way back into title contention rather than being granted an immediate opportunity.
The verbal sparring between Topuria and Makhachev has intensified in recent days, but a fight between them is not the next step, and whether this anticipated clash will ever materialize in the future remains an open question.
