Islam Makhachev downplays future fight against fellow UFC champion Ilia Topuria: “What will that do for me?”
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev isn’t very interested in facing Ilia Topuria.
‘El Matador’ is fresh off his return to the octagon in the main event of UFC 308 in October. Back for the first time since knocking out Alexander Volkanovski in February, Ilia Topuria met Max Holloway. Ahead of the contest, both featherweights were discussing a move to 155 pounds. For his part, ‘Blessed’ was coming off a knockout win over Justin Gaethje in April.
Well, Ilia Topuria blew up those plans in the fall. In round three of their featherweight classic, the champion became the first-ever man to crack the chin of the Hawaiian. Following the knockout win, Topuria again discussed a move to lightweight to face Islam Makhachev. However, Dana White said that he needed a few more title defenses to make the bout happen.
That being said, Islam Makhachev doesn’t have any interest in facing Ilia Topuria at all. Speaking in a recent interview with Match TV, the lightweight champion was asked about his future. Currently, Makhachev is expected to face former opponent Arman Tsarukyan in a rematch at UFC 311 in January. However, the bout remains unannounced as of now.
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UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev opens up on future fight against Ilia Topuria
In the interview, Islam Makhachev was asked about his thoughts on a future bout against Ilia Topuria. While the bout would be a massive one, the Russian isn’t super enthusiastic about it. Given his two previous wins over former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, Makhachev wants to face contenders in his actual weight class.
“We’ll fight if we have to.” Islam Makhachev stated to Match TV when asked about facing Ilia Topuria. “In terms of my fighting career, I’m not interested in fighting Topuria at all. He’s in a different weight class. I’ll beat him, and what will that do for me? I won’t win another belt. Everyone will once again say that I beat a featherweight. That’s it.”
He continued, “But if people really want to see him lose, then we can do it. Well, I have other goals. I want to win a second belt. If you want to remain in history, then you must do something memorable.”
What do you make of these comments from the UFC lightweight champion? Do you want to see Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria?
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
Topics:
Ilia Topuria Islam Makhachev UFC
