“Oh man, I’m tired of giving chances to small guys,” Islam Makhachev remarked, clearly frustrated by the persistent callouts from UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. The Georgian-Spanish juggernaut has been vocal about wanting to become a two-division champion, setting his sights on Makhachev’s 155lbs strap. But what’s the holdup? Well, ‘El Matador’ has only ever defended his featherweight belt once. At the same time, Makhachev—who already faced criticism for back-to-back victories over former 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski—is reluctant to entertain another featherweight moving up.
Close friend and mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, who questioned the legitimacy of the matchup fully supported his stance, saying, “Why does Islam need to give a third chance to the 145-pound champion? Why?” According to ‘The Eagle’, such a fight would be “unfair.” Despite Topuria’s repeated challenges, Makhachev hasn’t completely shut the door on a potential clash but he has set clear conditions.
Speaking to Match TV, he made his stance known: “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, and we’ll definitely fight.”
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