Former featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria moved up to the lightweight division to challenged for a second UFC divisional title but also to fight then-champion Islam Makhachev.
Makhachev had the same aspirations of becoming a two-division titleholder as Topuria and relinquished the 155-pound championship to move up to the 170-pound weight class. Topuria faced former champion Charles Oliveira in the UFC 317 main event with the vacant lightweight strap on the line.
Topuria knocked Oliveira out midway through the opening round to join the exclusive club of fighters who have won UFC championships in two different divisions. Topuria still wants to fight Makhachev but doesn’t think Makhachev, or his team, wants the fight.
“My real goal, always, was Islam. But since he decided to run away, it had to be Charles,” Topuria told TMZ Sports. “Listen, I think he (Makhachev) took a great decision. If the UFC would have offered him to fight Justin Gaethje, or another contender in the division, I think he would stay at 155.
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“But with me coming up, he was like, ‘I don’t have to take this risk. I’m going to move up to the 170. I’m going to try to get another belt.’ And that’s all because he knows I’m dangerous. He knows that I’m going to put him sleep. Even Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. The only reason they don’t want me to fight against him is because they know that I’m going to beat him.”
Don’t confused the confidence of “El Matador” as cockiness. His unwavering self belief comes from knowing how hard he prepares in the gym.
“I know what I’m able to do inside that octagon. When I used to say this, they think that I’m cocky,” Topuria said. “In reality, it’s because I know what I’m able to do inside that octagon. I know how skillful I am. I know how hard I work for every fight,:” he said.
