Islam Makhachev‘s wishes seem to have water being poured on them again and again or at least it seems like they are not being heard. He has two wishes—to be the most dominant lightweight ever and to become a two-weight champ. Currently, Belal Muhammad is at welterweight, so that double-champ bid seems like a pipe dream As for his lightweight status? Well, that’s being threatened by a man named Ilia Topuria. Yes, the same ‘El Matador’ who won the featherweight belt but won’t defend it anymore because making the 145-lb limit has become a battle in itself.

Now the Georgian Spaniard has arrived at the gates of lightweight and speculation looms on whether he will fight Makhachev for the lightweight gold. The Dagestani phenom is strictly against the idea because he thinks Topuria needs to fight other lightweight prospects to prove himself. Nevertheless, Daniel Cormier made Dana White’s job a little easier by giving out a perfect time for the fight—if at all it ever happens.

He spoke to Chael Sonnen on the new episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy and said, “There could be no bigger fight for Abu Dhabi than Islam Makhachev versus Ilia Topuria. That to me makes sense at that time frame. Put them in Abu Dhabi, having Islam who’s the star, having Topuria who’s also a star—fighting in October when we’re generally there—would be blockbuster.”

However, ‘The American Gangster’ is not on board with this matchup. Why? Well, because two of Makhachev’s four title defenses have been against an ex-featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski. If he takes the Topuria fight, it’ll send out the message that he hasn’t defended the lightweight belt against the fighters originally in the division—except for Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano.

Sonnen found this unfair to the Dagestani phenom and said, “My first sense is that’s fake news, and it’s a real insult to Islam.” He further added, “I don’t believe that Islam’s scared to fight anybody. I think the evidence of that fact would be the fact that he switched opponents and took on ‘Money’ Moicano with no training camp, no preparation, just because it’s the right thing to do, and made sure that the golden rule was followed, which is—the show must go forward.”

And, Cormier who is a teammate of Islam Makhachev agreed with Sonnen. Interestingly, DC shed more light on why Islam Makhachev is reluctant to entertain the soon-to-be former featherweight champion, straight from Team Khabib themselves!

Daniel Cormier on why Islam Makhachev does not want to fight Ilia Topuria

DC apparently talked to Team Khabib and gathered some titbits on why Makhachev slammed the doors on Topuria. He said, “But I’ve talked to those guys a little bit, and I know they think Ilia should fight someone first. Fighting Alexander Volkanovski, who at the time was number one pound-for-pound. Remember when their first fight was announced? It was a battle for the number one spot,” Cormier said.

So its all about Makhachev’s legacy and true potential. Unfortunately for the Dagestani, out of four of his wins, two are against a featherweight. Fighting Ilia Topuria would add to that number, even though the man who vacated his 145-lb belt has made a permanent move to 155 lbs. Naturally, fans would question his potential saying he only beats featherweights.

Khabib Nurmagomedov pointed this out as well last year. He said, “People criticized him for fighting Volkanovski twice, so why should he give another chance to a 145-pound champion?” But what do you think? Should Islam Makhachev give an immediate title shot to Ilia Topuria, or is he right in making ‘El Matador’ earn that opportunity by beating another top lightweight? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.