Ilia Topuria vacated his featherweight title to permanently move to the lightweight division, but there’s no guarantee he’s going to get a shot at gold in his return to 155 pounds.
Since the announcement was made that Topuria was relocating to a new weight class, UFC CEO Dana White has stated several times that his next fight hasn’t been decided yet, and he may not end up facing lightweight champion Islam Makhachev next. Ever since Topuria called for that opportunity, Makhachev has scoffed at the idea because he already beat former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski on two different occasions, and he wasn’t all that interested in adding a third 145-pounder to his resume.
For his part, UFC legend Matt Brown understands Makhachev’s disinterest in the fight, especially if Topuria is jumping right into a title shot in his new division.
“If I’m Islam, I don’t take that fight,” Brown said on The Fighter vs. The Writer. “I don’t try to make that fight happen. I totally agree with what he said. ‘I don’t need to fight another blown up 145-pounder.’”
“He already did that, too [with the Alexander Volkanovski fights]. I heard Islam had said that, I don’t need to fight another blown up 145’er. I think he’s got a great point there. What Ilia has done, I feel like he has earned to fight for a title in basically every division, too though, but I agree let him fight one and earn his way to the title.”
This past weekend, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that it was Topuria’s idea to relinquish his title because he didn’t want to endure another difficult weight cut down to 145 pounds but he also wanted to allow the division to move forward rather than holding it up in his absence.
As a champion, perhaps Topuria could have leveraged his way into an immediate title shot but Brown says putting him up against another top lightweight like Arman Tsarukyan or Charles Oliveira would only raise his stick if he wins.
“Who’s he fight? That’s exciting,” Brown said about Topuria’s next move. “You mentioned Charles Oliveira like f*ck yeah! Who else is out there for him to fight? Arman? That’s exciting as hell. That’s sort of a test to see if he could compete with Islam. Stylistically a lot of similarities there. That’s a good one, too. Charles, that excited me. Charles is always fun to watch.
“I feel like anybody trying to get the 155 title has to go through Charles. He’s just that guy. He’s been a title holder also but it’s like you want to get there, you better be able to beat this guy.”
Allowing Topuria to earn his title shot by going through another top ranked lightweight not only appeals to Makhachev but Brown feels like that might also give the now former featherweight champion the opportunity to prove he can hang with bigger, stronger competition.
At 5-foot-7, Topuria isn’t the biggest fighter for the lightweight division, which is one of the reasons Brown was actually surprised to hear him say he was done competing at 145 pounds.
“Just my first thought when I heard it was like he’s pretty small for 155,” Brown said about Topuria. “He wasn’t big for 145. I was surprised he said he had a hard time making that weight.
“I’ve only seen him on TV, I haven’t seen him in person or anything but he says he likes to drink wine when he cuts weight. Maybe that’s why you’re not making weight, buddy. Stop drinking wine, drink some f*cking water, bro.”
All jokes aside, Brown says the decision should really come down to Makhachev, and he’s earned the right to favor one challenger over another, especially as he continues building his own legacy in the sport.
That may not sit well with Topuria or fans clamoring for a superfight, but Brown already understands how the narrative will paint Makhachev if he goes out and beats another featherweight just jumping up for a title shot in the lightweight division.
“It’s more from Islam’s side it doesn’t make sense,” Brown said. “For Ilia, he beat Max [Holloway] and [Volkanovski]. He kind of earned his way to any title shot but for Islam, it makes no sense. I get both sides and Islam’s the champ so you should have to get a fight to go fight him.”
