Ilia Topuria has wasted no time in taking a shot at Islam Makhachev after the UFC lightweight champion confirmed his decision to vacate the title in pursuit of welterweight glory
Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria didn’t pull any punches when criticising Islam Makhachev for vacating his lightweight title.
In a dramatic turn of events, Dana White, on Tuesday night, confirmed Topuria is moving up to the lightweight division and is lined up to fight former champ Charles Oliveira for the vacated belt at UFC 317 on June 28. The assumption was that ‘El Matador’ would face off with Makhachev but the Dagestan fighter relinquished his title, eyeing a welterweight conquest against new champion Jack Della Maddalena.
Last week, Makhachev’s intentions seemed different; before vacating the title, he had declared his ambition to climb to 170lb but insisted he wouldn’t give up his lightweight crown. Revealing his thoughts on X – the platform once called Twitter – he asserted: “This Saturday’s main event will define what’s my next move is. But regardless of outcome that fight, I’m not going to vacate my lightweight title! We might get real contender there!”
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However, with news of the Oliveira fight breaking, a zealous Topuria couldn’t wait to comment. Via a social media post, he took a dig at Makhachev, stating: “On June 28, another dream will come true.”, reports All Out Fighting. “I’ll be the champion of the lightweight division. Charles, my apologies in advance… I’m just fighting for my dreams. It’s unfortunate that Makhachev ran away.”
Topuria and Oliveira are set to headline the blockbuster card on International Fight Week. In the co-main event, Alexandre Pantoja will be looking to successfully defend his flyweight title against Kai Kara-France.
Tuesday’s news could have played out differently, though. If Belal Muhammad had defeated Della Maddalena, Makhachev would have remained at 155lbs and most likely would’ve faced Topuria despite his ambition to move up a weight class and become a two-division world champion.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Makhachev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz shed light on the situation. “If Belal were to win, Islam was never going to fight Belal, and he’s going to stay in the (lightweight) division. But now Jack wins,” he explained. “Islam has beaten everyone in this division, literally.
“Dan Hooker, Arman, Charles Oliveira, he’s on a 15-fight winning streak, finished nine of his last 10 opponents. (There’s no one who) deserves to go fight for a second title than Islam, and the reason he wasn’t going to do it because Belal was the champion.” He continued: “You have these two guys, Charles Oliveira and Ilia fighting, and they can fight for the title. But everybody knows who’s still champion in this division because he never lost the title.”
After his win on Saturday night, Della Maddalena is keen to face off against Makhachev later this year. “There are no plans yet, but yeah, I reckon we’ll be getting back in there within the next four to five months, I believe, some point mid to late end of the year we’ll get something going,” he told Fox Sports Australia. “Hopefully we get in there real soon, cause I’m feeling pretty good,” he added.
