Islam Makhachev is currently in a position where he believes he should face a legitimate lightweight contender. And that certainly doesn’t include Ilia Topuria—the former 145lbs champion who vacated his featherweight title to pursue gold at 155lbs. Even his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, weighed in, claiming that giving the Georgian-Spanish star a title shot would send the wrong message to the division. “Why Islam have to give three-time chance for 145 champion? Why? It’s not fair for 155lbs,” Khabib stated a few months ago. However, it appears that the Hall of Famer’s argument might come off as somewhat contradictory.
The only thing that Nurmagomedov could never do since he hung up his gloves due to his father’s untimely passing was becoming a double champion. We all know that it was Conor McGregor who opened the floodgates for other fighters to dream about capturing two belts, which is what Makhachev wants to do. Time and time again, the lightweight champ has claimed, “I want to fight for the second belt.” Now, if we take a look at what Topuria wants to do, UFC legend Chael Sonnen argues that ‘La Leyenda’ is trying to do the same thing.
“What you’re describing and suggesting Islam do next is exactly what Ilia is in the process of doing,” ‘The American Gangster’ stated on his YouTube channel. It’s important to note that Topuria was never bested and did not drop the belt to any fighter. While some people believe that he might have been stripped of the belt due to his wish to move to 155lbs, the reports claim that he vacated it.
“For me, talking about Ilia Topuria, you’ve got an undefeated champion of the world who’s now in your weight class. Obviously, he’s the #1 contender,” Sonnen further stated. “But for other guys to go, ‘Well, he hasn’t proved it here. Matter of fact, look, he’s got no ranking here. He’s got no wins over anybody here. We don’t discount what he did. But he didn’t do it here.’ That’s a little bit weak, but kinda hard to argue against.”
When looking at Jon Jones, he returned straight into a title fight in his heavyweight debut after vacating the 205lbs crown back in 2020. So, it shouldn’t be all that surprising if Topuria finds himself in the conversation as a No. 1 contender in a new division. However, the main reason Nurmagomedov dismissed a potential matchup between Topuria and Makhachev—and one of the few points Sonnen agrees with—is that Topuria hasn’t yet faced a top contender in the weight class.
‘The Bad Guy’ also claimed that Nurmagomedov’s argument about Topuria proving his mettle in the lightweight division could also pop up if Makhachev tries to fight the champion at 170lbs. “I do hear you, but we’re going to take that same argument for ourselves when we go up to 170 lbs, and that’s where it does get a little bit complicated,” the UFC legend added.
MMA: UFC 280-Nurmagomedov vs Omargadzhiev Oct 22, 2022 Abu Dhabi, UAE Khabib Nurmagomedov is seen before the fight between Abubakar Nurmagomedov red gloves and Gadzhi Omargadzhiev blue gloves during UFC 280 at Etihad Arena. Abu Dhabi UAE, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xCraigxKidwellx 20221022_jla_ooo_177
While ‘The American Gangster’ has offered us his argument, Ilia Topuria has opened up on Team Khabib’s demands as well. He made it all too clear about his thoughts on fighting Islam Makhachev during his debut on the Joe Rogan Experience. Here’s what he had to say.
Ilia Topuria plans to compel Islam Makhachev to fight him
It seems like Ilia Topuria isn’t backing down despite Islam Makhachev’s reluctance to give him a title shot. ‘La Leyenda’ has made it clear that even though he could fight a top contender, he’s not willing to do that. Instead, he plans to wait until Makhachev inevitably accepts the fight, which he should have no problem doing since he’s been ‘dominant’ as the lightweight champion.
“I would like to fight with Islam, that is for sure. I wouldn’t fight for a No. 1 contender fight. If Islam decides he doesn’t want to fight me, I’ll sit until you’re gonna have to fight me,” Ilia Topuria told Joe Rogan. “You say you are a world champion, keep dominating the division, (and) all that. I’m here. You can’t keep avoiding me all the time.” Well, what do you think? Is Islam Makhkachev avoiding him?
For Chael Sonnen, though, he doesn’t think there’s any “chicken amongst us” when it comes to Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev. So, what do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
The post Khabib Nurmagomedov Caught Being a Hypocrite as Chael Sonnen Questions Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria Fight appeared first on EssentiallySports.