Ilia Topuria can’t wait to be face-to-face with Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“La Leyenda” is moving up to 155 pounds with one target in mind: Defeating Makhachev for the UFC lightweight title. Currently the featherweight champion, Topuria officially vacates his title Saturday for Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes to compete for the belt in the UFC 314 main event.
A matchup between Topuria and Makhachev is yet to be made official, but Topuria has frequently mentioned the possibility of them fighting in the future. In an interview with PBD Podcast, Topuria was asked what advantages he feels he has over MMA Fighting’s No. 1 Pound-for-Pound fighter and not only did he answer confidently, he had a message for Makhachev’s mentor as well.
“You ask me, I feel that I have the advantage in everything,” Topuria said. “This is what I truly believe. Me, personally, I would ask him, ‘What’s your favorite submission?’ Whatever, I don’t know, D’Arce choke. I’m going to submit you with that.”
“I take him close to Khabib. I will submit him closer to Khabib. Khabib used to take people on his shoulder, take them down, and talk to Dana. I will do it to Khabib. I will take [Makhachev] and then talk to Khabib. Khabib, I have to do it.”
Nurmagomedov has said he’d prefer to see Topuria earn a shot at Makhachev rather than receive and immediate championship opportunity at 155 pounds. Topuria and Makhachev have stunning résumés, with Topuria coming off of back-to-back knockouts of legends Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway that moved his pro record to 16-0, and Makhachev having won 15 consecutive fights since his lone loss in 2015, a run that includes five title defenses.
Though Topuria is still waiting for word on his lightweight debut, he doubts UFC CEO Dana White will make him fight in a No. 1 contender bout.
“[White] wouldn’t tell me that,” Topuria said. “He would say for the belt.”
“There’s no way I have to fight to the No. 1 contender,” Topuria continued. “I have to fight directly for the belt. Personally, I don’t know, I hope in summer, maybe in September.”
Topuria doesn’t take particular issue with Nurmagomedov questioning his challenger credentials as he believes they’re considering the possibility from different angles.
“He’s saying that I don’t deserve it, but he’s saying it from a fighter’s perspective,” Topuria said. “As a promoter, it works a little bit different.”
