“The difference between you and me is that I am a man and you are a coward. I speak and fight. You talk and hide,” Ilia Topuria said to Islam Makhachev, without mincing words. The Spaniard had already labelled him a ‘hypocrite’ for denying him a title fight at lightweight, when Islam was essentially chasing the same objective at welterweight. At 33, Islam Makhachev is looking to make the most of his prime years and win a second UFC belt. You couple that ambition with Topuria’s legend-killing spree, it’s easy to frame a narrative that Islam is running from the risk of fighting ‘El Matador.’ But the truth could not be further from it.
Enter Chael Sonnen, previously a vocal preacher of the ‘Islam is running’ narrative. But ‘The Bad Guy’ seems to have had a change of heart. Just two days ago, he lambasted Makhachev on the ‘Good Guy/Bad Guy’ show, saying, “You have an undefeated, #1 ranked world champion who’s chasing you down… You are so interested in getting away from this guy, that you not only leave your belt but leave your division.” He was not happy with Makhachev avoiding a fight with teammate and former champion Belal Muhammad either. But now, in typical Chael fashion, he has presented a new narrative that challenges his previous claims.
While explaining his compelling case, Sonnen said, “Islam Makhachev, is he a hypocrite? Did he run from Ilia? Does it appear that he did all one could do to get out of having to fight Ilia Topuria? Yeah, looks that way a lot. Islam doesn’t wanna beat the scale. Islam isn’t interested in being a champion here and a champion here and a champion here or any of those things. That’s in your misled little minds. He doesn’t wanna weigh 155 lbs anymore. That’s the truth.”
The ‘Bad Guy’ further added, “I just laid out a very compelling for why he ran from Ilia Topuria. The problem is, it’s not true. It’s gonna appear to be true. In a number of months, as time goes by, if you look back and stare at the story, it’s gonna appear to be exactly what happened. It’s not. But equally, [what] is not true is that Islam is trying to go and get a belt in a different division and collect the hardware for the mantle. That’s the misunderstanding. It’s about weight. The worst part of this sport is cutting weight. “
Now this is a more compelling argument that ‘Islam is ducking Ilia.’ The Makhachev camp never said no to fighting the Spaniard. They wanted him to beat ranked lightweights and earn his shot rather than take a fight where the risk seemingly outweighed the reward. And to Sonnen’s credit, weight cutting is a huge factor in fighters changing weight classes. There’s a reason Joe Rogan called it “illogical” and “sanctioned cheating.” It’s a terrible process that risks athlete health, and it only gets worse with age. And the best part? It’s the same reason Ilia Topuria moved up to lightweight. So, who’s the hypocrite now?
As Sonnen makes his case about Islam’s weight cut difficulties, a positive point that comes out of this is that Makhachev won’t have to go through the same struggles anymore. However, it ended the chances of a possible lightweight clash between Ilia and Islam. And we are only left with their heated words.
The verbal war between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev
The tension between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev has been escalating for a long time now, with both fighters exchanging sharp words. Ever since ‘El Matador’ vacated his featherweight title, he has been vocal about Makhachev avoiding a fight against Ilia, once stating, “He’s afraid. Of course he’s afraid… as usual, it’s an easy fight until they put your name on the contract. We all know, if it were that easy and if I’m small as he says, he would already share the octagon with me.”
And Makhachev isn’t one to stay silent either. The Dagestani wrestler called out the Spanish-Georgian, saying, “If Topuria continues in the same spirit, he may play himself out. Something may happen. So far I have not seen anyone cross any personal boundaries, so far nothing like that has happened. He needs to focus on his weight class and defending his belt at least once.”
Topuria, undeterred, once even took to social media to challenge Makhachev directly, as he wrote: “Islam, if I want to, I can finish you. If I want to, I can knock you out. I’ll make it look easy. See you soon.
As the lightweight division continues to evolve and grow, the potential for a Makhachev vs. Topuria bout remains uncertain. However, with Topuria’s upcoming fight against Charles Oliveira, a victory could reignite discussions about this highly anticipated matchup. Will Makhachev ever come back to lightweight? Or will Topuria go after him at welterweight? Or was this the end of their rivalry? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
The post UFC Insider Changes Tune on Accusing Islam Makhachev of Ducking Ilia Topuria Fight With Welterweight Move appeared first on EssentiallySports.
