“I’m not going to give him a shot right away because he hasn’t done all the work he was supposed to in his weight class. There are still contenders he needs to beat, but he doesn’t want to cut weight anymore. Let him move up and earn his shot.” Islam Makhachev said earlier this year, firmly shutting the door on a fight with Ilia Topuria—who’s now set to move to 155lbs and stake his claim for the Dagestani’s title. Amidst this whole shake-up, ‘La Leyenda’ has decided to vacate his featherweight title. Moreover, that very belt will be up for grabs at UFC 314 when Alexander Volkanovski takes on Diego Lopes.
However, Topuria currently seems stuck in no-man’s land. The reason? Well, the reigning 155-pound champ has made it clear: before Topuria gets a title shot, he needs to prove himself against top contenders in the division. But just last month, Topuria dropped a bombshell in front of Spanish media, revealing that Dana White personally “promised” him an immediate title shot—if he agreed to give up the featherweight strap.
Despite the reported deal, no official confirmation has surfaced—sparking growing frustration within Ilia Topuria’s camp. Leading the charge is his close friend and fellow Georgian, bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Dvalishvili didn’t mince words. He called out the entire ‘Team Khabib’ camp, pointing out the double standard. ‘The Machine’ recalled how they were quick to criticize him for hesitating to fight ‘top contender’ Umar Nurmagomedov, yet now Islam Makhachev is avoiding Topuria in a similar situation.
“Ilia has to fight Islam Makhachev—especially since he vacated his featherweight belt and is no longer at 145. He’s the most deserving contender for the 155 title. But somehow, Islam Makhachev is ignoring him. I’m sure everyone remembers that Islam once told me just one thing at a press conference: ‘Merab, I respect you, but when you have a top contender, you should fight him.’ And I said, ‘Okay, I’m fighting.’ But now that he has a top contender in Ilia Topuria, he’s not fighting him. He’s saying other things instead. We all agree that Ilia deserves this fight more than anyone, and hopefully, it happens.”
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The post Merab Dvalishvili Calls Out Islam Makhachev & Team Khabib’s Hypocrisy in Rejecting Ilia Topuria Fight appeared first on EssentiallySports.
