Ilia Topuria made a bold and honorable decision to vacate his title, choosing to pursue gold in the lightweight division rather than endure another grueling cut to 145 pounds. Wanting to clear the path for other featherweight contenders, he stepped aside—a move that earned Dana White‘s respect and aligned with a suggestion previously made by Chael Sonnen. The UFC CEO recently announced that ‘El Matador’ had relinquished his belt to permanently compete at 155 pounds, a decision that shakes up not one but two divisions.
Topuria, for a long time, has been eyeing a move to the lightweight division mainly for two reasons. Firstly he feels the 155-pound division is his natural weight class as he struggles to make weight in the 145-pound division. The second one is obvious—attaining the status of a dual champion by fighting Islam Makhachev for the title. For the lightweight kingpin, he clearly stated that he is tired of giving the fighters in the featherweight division a chance. But this hasn’t stopped Topuria from trying to get under the skin of the Dagestani fighter.
Often touted as a ‘loudmouth‘, Topuria has even gone on to say that he can submit the champion. Well, all these claims are just trash talk at the moment till both the fighters fight it out inside the Octagon. As for Makhachev? While he is reluctant to give the former featherweight champion a chance at his title, he clearly re-affirmed after his win over Renato Moicano at UFC 311, “For me, no matter. Who can make 155, just step to the cage, and stand in front of me.”
He recently posted a picture on his IG story next to fire extinguishers with the text, “Someone needs to be put out”. The post is likely hinting at Ilia Topuria, given all the noise surrounding his move to lightweight. Topuria beating two men considered the greatest featherweight champions of all time has made a strong argument for an immediate shot at Islam Makhachev.
Despite Makhachev being willing to step up to anybody the UFC puts in front of him, Team Khabib is still wary about giving Topuria an immediate title shot. This is what exactly his long-time coach Javier Mendez said. The legendary coach recently took to his YouTube channel to share what exactly the problem is in facing Ilia Topuria for a title fight. For Mendez, there many fighters deserve a chance ahead of the former featherweight champion.
Islam Makhachev needs to fight actual contenders feels coach Mendez
Makhachev remains firm in his stance that ‘El Matador’ must first prove himself against a top-ranked lightweight before earning a title shot. American Kickboxing Academy’s head coach Javier Mendez elaborated on the champion’s mindset and said certain things that make sense from the division’s perspective.
With Makhachev laser-focused on solidifying his legacy as the greatest lightweight of all time, the Dagestani standout is only interested in defending his belt against a proven 155-pound contender. Mendez pointed out that fighters like Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira have been waiting patiently for their chance.
Furthermore, fighting another 145-pounder moving up in weight doesn’t fulfill his goal of facing the absolute best lightweights, in his quest to become the greatest of his division. And of course, some critics and analysts would deny Makhachev that title for fighting lower-weight class fighters stepping up in weight. While speaking on his YouTube channel he said, “My only issue has been that for us, if we have to fight him, it’s not a great fight for us because a lot of people are going to go, ‘Oh, Islam beat another featherweight,’ although one of the great ones but he’ll still be another featherweight,”.
Well, Mendez does have a valid argument about Makhachev’s legacy. Only if Makhachev wants to silence any doubts about his reign, he must continue taking on the division’s toughest lightweights and not challengers moving up a weight class.
There’s also a scenario where Topuria puts on a stellar performance and gets lauded by the community despite Makhachev winning the fight. In both cases, the Dagestani fighter will be on the losing end. So what should Islam Makhachev do next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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