Confused? You’re not alone, we’re all scratching our heads here! We are currently left wondering about the whereabouts of UFC’s flagship annual event! Yes, we are talking about UFC 317 scheduled on June 28 for International Fight Week. And with just two months out from the biggest card of the year, there hasn’t been any news on the event’s headliner. There have been several possibilities, but a confirmation? No! Although there has been some teasing from different camps. Take Khabib Nurmagomedov, for example, who stirred the pot by posting a bull on his Instagram story hinting that Islam Makhachev has accepted the fight with Ilia Topuria.
Soon, ‘La Leyenda’ posted on X, “The camp has begun.” Not long after, Charles Oliveira dropped a video titled “The Return.” And now? Chael Sonnen just tossed Justin Gaethje’s name in the mix with ‘The Highlight’ going against Makhachev for the belt. Honestly, no one knows what’s going on, but something big is brewing. That’s for sure! The UFC 317 main event is a Rubik’s Cube right now. Twisted, colorful, and no one’s got the final piece yet. But don’t be shocked to hear Gaethje’s name in the title talks.
After all, Makhachev already hinted at it after steamrolling Renato Moicano at UFC 311. He told Ushatayka, “I haven’t fought Justin yet…. If Gaethje does well, I think we can meet.” After that, UFC head honcho backed Gaethje’s chances after he battered Rafael Fiziev for the second time at UFC 313, stating, “he’s still the number three ranked guy in the world, the odds of him getting the title shot are pretty good.” And ‘The Highlight? He has also told The Schmo, “I’m ready to fight in June.”
Chael Sonnen, the UFC’s go-to insider, just added more fuel to the fire. According to him, the Makhachev vs. Gaethje clash is happening, and it’s set for the esteemed International Fight Week. On an Instagram reel pulled from his YouTube channel, ‘The Bad Guy’ dropped the scoop, saying his infallible sources confirmed this anticipated bout. He also broke down the wild state of the lightweight division and even admitted that Ilia Topuria has a strong case as the next rightful contender.
Sonnen said, “I’ve been informed that Islam Makhachev will defend his championship against Justin Gaethje at International Fight Weekend. How do I accept that? Tsarukyan has been oddly quiet. Ilia Topuria, while being undefeated and that matters. You wanna talk about finishing guys, excuse me! He has never lost to a guy ever! And, he’s not the number one contender? Well, that answer half way understandable! Which is, Islam has already welcomed a 145-pounder.”
He added, “The problem with Charles. Charles already fought Islam, which then brings you to Dustin Poirier, who’s excluded, because he’s in a retirement fight. Not to mention, he’s fighting Max (he whispers). Paddy is the next best thing, but he needs one more. You’re left with Justin Gaethje. All of that is accurate. If the source who’s never been wrong yet, to me, is right!”
‘The Bad Guy’ is a master at stirring the pot, but honestly, sometimes his rumors come with a twist. Take the Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall situation. On the Good Guy/Bad Guy show, he recently confidently claimed, “That fight is done.” But later on YouTube, he backpedaled a bit, saying, “OK, I might have said that… but I don’t know if it’s against Jon Jones.” He even hinted that Tom Aspinall might fight Ciryl Gane next for the interim gold.
Not saying that Chael’s wrong or that the fight won’t happen. But right now? It’s looking like the chances of this fight happening are feeling a little less. Because we have seen a couple of movements from the other fighters involved and not so much from Gaethje so far. Maybe we’ll see when the day comes close.
Right now, it feels like Islam vs. Ilia is getting all the hype. That matchup has fans buzzing, and honestly, there’s still a real chance it goes down. But not everyone’s buying the hype just yet. Some folks are still questioning if he really deserves the shot. Even Belal Muhammad chimed in, raising a few eyebrows.
Belal Muhammad believes Islam Makhachev has nothing to gain by fighting Ilia Topuria
Belal Muhammad isn’t exactly thrilled about Ilia Topuria being the frontrunner to face Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt. He also believes in the argument that Makhachev shouldn’t keep defending against guys from 145lbs after already giving Alexander Volkanovski two shots at his belt. Khabib Nurmagomedov has echoed the same thing before on multiple occasions. Now, with Belal doubling down, especially mentioning that Topuria’s small stature will not last against Makhachev.
‘Remember The Name’ told MMA Fighting, “The people never want to give Team Khabib their respect. They want to see them lose so badly. They just want to shun them and put hate on them, no matter what it is. When he beats Volkanovski, who was the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world at that time in a close fight it’s like, ‘Oh he suck he didn’t finish him, he should have finished him, he’s a 145er’ and then he goes out there and finishes him and it’s like, ‘Well Volkanovski’s a ‘45er.”
He added, “So now Topuria, I think he’s a little bit smaller than Volkanovski, he’s going to move up, and if Islam dominates him, ‘Oh well, he’s a ‘45er, he can go back down.’ There’s really nothing to gain for Islam for fighting him.”
The Georgian Spaniard has now joined camp, likely to prove to the Dagestanis that he can be a real threat even with the size disadvantage. But that statement only becomes reality if he gets the chance to fight for the lightweight title. So, what do you think? Which lightweight fight is going to be the main event for International Fight Week?
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