Islam Makhachev Wants Ilia Topuria to Earn Lightweight Title Shot

🗣️ Islam Makhachev on Ilia Topuria:

“I heard [Ilia] has problems cutting weight… he’s probably already gained fat from the good life…

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Let him move up, and when he earns his chance we will definitely fight.”

🎥 @MatchTV #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/7RjHW94szK

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 14, 2025

Islam Makhachev believes Ilia Topuria’s primary motivation to move up is his inability to cut weight.

Topuria has recently been planning a move up to lightweight to challenge Makhachev for the lightweight title. The ever-confident featherweight champ believes he can have his way with Makhachev, currently the UFC’s pound-for-pound king.

However, Makhachev isn’t willing to offer Topuria an immediate title shot upon moving to lightweight. The lightweight champ believes Topuria’s plans to move up to 155 pounds stem from an inability to make 145 pounds due to the “good life.” While he is willing to fight Topuria at some point, he doesn’t believe “El Matador’s” one featherweight title defense warrants an immediate title shot.

“I have heard he has problems cutting weight, that he can no longer fit into the limit in his weight class,” Makhachev told MatchTV. “He’s already probably gained fat from the good life, and he already wants to leave the belt and move up. But I’m not going to give him a chance right away because he hasn’t done all the work in his weight class… He has only one defense. He has other contenders he should have beaten, but he doesn’t want to cut weight anymore. So let him move up, and when he earns his chance, we’ll definitely fight.”

Topuria won the featherweight title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 last year and defended the belt by handing Max Holloway his first ever knockout loss at UFC 308. Meanwhile, Makhachev is undefeated since 2015 and has defended his lightweight strap four times, most recently against Renato “Moicano” Carneiro via submission at UFC 311 last month.