Islam Makhachev “is pound-for-pound No. 1 king”, is the opinion Usman Nurmagomedov has never shied away from sharing. In a promotion where bloody knuckles seem to be the norm, Usman and Makhachev have formed an unlikely friendship—one where the “Finisher” is among the first to defend his friend. Fans got a recent example of the same, but it seems Usman’s defending efforts have gone awry this time, exposing some old wounds. But before we get to that…

Notably, the bond originates from when the current UFC lightweight champion and Khabib Nurmagomedov—Usman’s cousin—were merely teenagers, training under the latter’s father. In fact, Islam is basically family: “Islam was one of the favourites, my father’s students and he really loved him like his son.” So it was only natural that Usman would consider Makhachev akin to his own brother. But the love certainly isn’t one-sided.

In a conversation last year in August, Makhachev also highly praised the 26-year-old. “Honestly, Usman has good potential you know, because he grew up with us [and] he did a lot of rounds with Khabib, now he’s my sparring partner – when he was young, we give him always a hard time in the cage, that’s why this guy is ready for everything [now]…He can fight with anybody, and I think when he finishes all his job in Bellator-PFL, he can come to the UFC, and this guy can be UFC champion,” he said.

For the unversed, the undisputed lightweight champion of the world has yet to face defeat since his last loss against Adriano Martins back in 2015. Islam Makhachev has fought everyone and has emerged victorious in all of his bouts. His recent fight against Dustin Poirier was a testament to his dominance, which has attracted an unforeseen challenge from the featherweight champ, Ilia Topuria.

‘El Matador’ is prepping up to fight Max Holloway at the UFC 308 on October 26, but it appears that the newly minted featherweight champion is looking beyond ‘Blessed’ to ascertain his legacy in a fight against the lightweight champ.

While in conversation on his Instagram handle, Topuria was asked about his future plans, to which the featherweight champion asserted that after dealing with Max Holloway, he would fight Alexander Volkanoski again but he is really open to fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title, “Why not (move up to lightweight)? I’ve done it once, I could do it again. The truth is that of course I do (see myself fighting Makhachev). He’s a great fighter. Sometimes he talks too much, sometimes not. But we can always resolve it in the Octagon, not in the streets because I’ll have to pay for his medical bills.”

Ilia Topuria might be one of the best in the featherweight division, but making such obnoxious comments has for sure dragged the ire of the entire Team Khabib. Responding to the comments, bantamweight contender, Usman Nurmagomedov has taken a jibe at the featherweight champ, “When did you ever fight on the streets European boy? ” wrote ‘Young Eagle’ on his Instagram stories.

Making fun of Ilia Topuria without receiving a response from him seems a bit unusual in the world of the UFC. Usman Nurmagomedov’s comments didn’t go unnoticed by the featherweight champion as he took to his X handle to give a pretty harsh remark on ‘Young Eagle’s career, “It has been a long time, to be honest. How are you doing with dr–s? Are you still on steroids?”

Back in October 2023, Usman Nurmagomedov was banned from the California State Atheltic Commission(CSAC) and fined $50,000 after failing in his post-victory (against Brent Primus at Bellator 300) drug test. The win was overturned to no contest and Nurmagomedov was banned from fighting for a good six months. His lightweight title was not snatched from him, considering the fact that he was using a prescription drug and not steroids.

“Usman was prescribed medication for an illness he had. It’s NOT an anabolic steroid, EPO, HGH, etc. Nothing enhancing,” his manager Ali Abdelaziz said to ESPN in November 2023.

The banter might turn into a rivalry in the near future but can Ilia Topuria actually gain a lightweight title shot over the hotshots of the 155 lbs division? According to Islam Makahchev, he has what it takes to fight him.

Islam Makhachev lays down the path for ‘El Matador’ lightweight fight

Islam Makhachev has defended ͏his title three times already, and he now views the entire li͏ghtweight di͏vision as͏ a͏n easy͏ c͏hallenge afte͏r͏ d͏efeating Dustin Poirier. Ilia Topuria might be a fresh challenge for the champion but there are some conditions that has been emphasized by the lightweight champion for ‘El Matador’ to face him. What are those? Well, in order to fight him, Topuria first has to clear out his entire division.

While having a conversation with Marca, Makhachez said, “Ilia is good, yes. I think in my opinion he has good wrestling skills, but he always uses his boxing. And when you have good boxing, your opponent has good boxing, it’s a little bit dangerous. He is good, but his next opponent is Max Holloway. If he beats Max [and] if he beats Movsar Evloev [he can potentially fight for lightweight championship]… He has a big job to do in his division.”

Islam Makhachev fought Alexander Volkanovski twice in his career but one thing to note is the fact that the ‘Great’ cleared out his entire division before facing him and the Dagestani want Topuria to follow the same. Regardless, what’s your take on their potential matchup? State your thoughts in the comments below.