The anticipation is electric as featherweight king Ilia Topuria is all set for his first title defense at UFC 308. ‘El Matador’ will be taking on division legend Max Holloway who looks to cement his supremacy in the 145lbs division. However, the 27-year-old is not solely focused on ‘Blessed’ and has multiple opponents in mind. One such opponent is the welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad.

Topuria and ‘Bully B’ have been involved in a lot of social media brawls lately. The welterweight champion has finally responded to all such claims in a recent interview. According to him, the Spanish-Georgian is trying to get attention and should not be taken seriously.

Belal Muhammad has some harsh words for Ilia Topuria before his UFC 308 fight

Ilia Topuria has quickly been elevated to an iconic status in the UFC, showcasing impressive skills and remaining undefeated in his short career. The 27-year-old’s goal is to become a three-division champion, and he has set his sights on Belal Muhammad as a potential target. However, Muhammad dismissed Topuria as an easy opponent in a recent interview with “Shak MMA,” which sparked a verbal exchange between the two fighters.

The 36-year-old sat down for a chat with TMZ Sports to discuss his first title defense. The Palestinian-American will defend his title against division boogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 and is excited about the fight. However, he does have his eyes on Ilia Topuria, who expressed his interest in fighting him. ‘Remember the Name’ believes Topuria will find it tough against him as he doesn’t have the size. He even warned him about his next opponent and advised him not to take him lightly.

When asked to share his opinion on the recent beef with ‘El Matador’, Muhammad had some harsh words for him. He said, “I just think he’s fake! He’s just trying to find his persona right. He’s trying to be this guy that people don’t really know much about, right? Nobody really cares about him. So he’s trying to get attention by talking trash and just calling out everybody. But yeah, I am like, bro, you’re like four foot, five. And you’re like 50 pounds like relax. You’ll get I literally slap you around”

Belal Muhammad isn’t the only one who is on Topuria’s target. Current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is also on his radar in his bid to achieve immortality as he wishes to move up to lightweight next in his career. But it seems he has nothing personal with Makhachev and just wants to test himself against the best. However, ‘El Matador’ doesn’t share the same feelings for the Dagestani’s cousins and has a stern warning for them.

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev’s war takes a new turn after his comments on his cousins

Ilia Topuria has been actively seeking a matchup with Islam Makhachev for some time. While Makhachev is currently recovering from an injury, Topuria has expressed interest in facing him in the lightweight division after slaying Max Holloway.

The two fighters have engaged in a verbal feud, with Topuria recently mocking Makhachev’s cousins in an Instagram video. In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Topuria discussed his plans and expressed his desires for the future. The clip was shared on the Red Corner MMA page on Instagram and the Spanish-Georgian didn’t take any liking to the Dagestani’s cousins despite expressing respect for the champion himself.

The featherweight champion expressed the same and said, “I don’t have anything personal with him. The only point is that he’s the world champion in the lightweight division. I wanna move up to the lightweight division. I wanna face him in the future. I said something like ‘ I want to face him in the Octagon ‘ and all his cousins came out ‘When I see you in the street. When I see you around, I’m gonna do this and that ‘. Oh, shut the f..k up. You are not gonna do anything. So shut up.” 

The 27-year-old will be facing one of his biggest challenges when he takes on Max Holloway next. He has even claimed that he would knock ‘Blessed’ out within ten seconds of the first round. Can he back his words against one of the finest fighters in the division? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.