“Islam, if I want to, I can finish you. If I want to, I can knock you out. I’ll make it look easy. [See] you soon” – Ilia Topuria said this moment after Makhachev won at UFC 311. Is Ilia Topuria being too confident in saying that he can submit Islam Makhachev? The same Dagestani who defeated Renato Moicano in one round at UFC 311? Can Topuria defeat the one who broke the UFC record for most lightweight title defenses ever, a record previously held by Khabib Nurmagomedov? Well, ‘El Matador’ seems adamant that he can. But Luke Rockhold wants him to slow the roll.
While speaking to Submission Radio, the two-time Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and the final Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, decided to spill the beans for Topuria. He started by praising the Spaniard, “You still the champ at ’45 and you go up and try to challenge another one and still have your belt at ’45 and it’s a safety, it’s a safety net. Conor has built that recipe, you know, you wanna challenge yourself but he is Ilia Topuria a f***ing gangster I mean he is f***ing good everywhere. You know I wanna see that fight there’s no other fight that I want to see more than those two fights and their two respective weight classes.”
Even though he did compliment Topuria, when it came to ‘El Matador’ submitting Makhachev, Rockhold was sure it was impossible. He said, “Well that’s not gonna happen.” And why is Rockhold so sure? Because Makhachev once caught him by surprise in the gym!
Back in 2021, the former UFC middleweight champion had said, “I used to use him (Makhachev) for training back when like I fought (Lyoto) Machida (in 2015). And I remember I was using him, kind of light sparring with him, like he’s this new kid, showed up, 155-pounder. I was just moving with a good body to move with and I was underestimating him. And I was like, kind of got lazy on the fence and he hit me with a massive head-and-arm throw; just threw me over the top. I was like, ‘Uh, uh. No. No’…I got back up. He’s got some tricks, no doubt… He did catch me being lazy and threw me once or twice… Him (Islam) and Khabib (Nurmagomedov) are miles apart from everybody else at that weight in the grappling and the wrestling. There’s no one that’s going to really be able to compete there. I rag-doll every other ’55-pounder in the world, and those are the only two that I don’t rag-doll.”
MMA: UFC 298-Volkanovski vs Topuria Feb 17, 2024 Anaheim, California, USA Ilia Topuria celebrates his championship victory against Alexander Volkanovski during UFC 298 at Honda Center. Anaheim Honda Center California USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xGaryxA.xVasquezx 20240217_gav_sv5_163
The Georgian wants to be a multi-weight champ and his primary aim is the lightweight belt but can he beat Makhachev? Well, the stats so far seem to be favoring Ilia’s chances.
Ilia Topuria achieved what Islam Makhachev could not
Both Topuria and Makhachev have had a bout against former featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski. Interestingly both of them succeeded in winning against Volkanovski but there was one little disparity that set Topuria and Makhachev’s victories apart.
Islam Makhachev fought Alexander Volkanovski two times: once at UFC 284 and another at UFC 294. For the first fight, ‘The Great’ had asked Makhachev to put his lightweight belt on the line and the Dagesatani had wanted his P4P no 1 rank. The fight was pretty neck to neck and the Russian had a pretty hard time defending his lightweight belt. Nevertheless, Makhachev won the fight and for the second bout, the bet was the same.
However, this is a fight that Volk had accepted on short notice and that is why he did not have time to prepare properly. This was a boon in disguise for the Russian phenom who knocked out his opponent with a head kick and hammer fists in round one. As for, Ilia Topuria, he faced Volk just once and KO-ed him with a right hook at UFC 298. There is an argument to be made that Volkanovski took a quick turnaround before recovering from the headkick KO from the Makhachev loss.
Plus, Topuria handled the height advantage well against Max Holloway. He walks around at nearly the same weight as Makhachev is on fight night. Topuria clearly also has an amazing striking prowess along with Greco-Roman wrestling skills. Makhachev is a Sambo expert who does heavy grappling. His sole loss was via KO from a check hook. The Spaniard does have a power-packed punch which always poses a threat.
Keeping all of the above in mind, let us know what you think about a potential Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev matchup.
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