The UFC 308 knockout of Max Holloway boosted Ilia Topuria‘s status as one of the best current UFC fighters, with the 145-lbs champ eyeing gold in other weight classes. However, the Georgian-Spanish fighter’s bid to triple gold status in the UFC might be undone by a fellow undefeated 170-lbs contender. While ‘El Matador’ has been taking shots at Islam Makhachev and Belal Muhammad, surging welterweight Shavkat Rakhmonov threw his name into the mix in response to the featherweight champion.

The Georgian fighter claimed he wanted to become the first three-weight UFC champion in history, taking aim at the lightweight and welterweight titles. While Shavkat Rakhmonov was not the object of Topuria’s comments, he took issue with the 145-lbs champ’s words. Taking to Instagram, ‘Nomad’ posted a morphed photo of himself applying an armbar to Ilia Topuria, with a caption to match. He wrote, “I heard, Ilia Topuria [wants to] fight me, [I] can fight him with one hand.” Rakhmonov is the title contender for the 170-lbs title against Belal Muhammad. However, since ‘Remember the Name’ pulled out of his UFC 310 title fight due to a bone infection, Rakhmonov remains without an opponent.

Speaking to MMA journalist Álvaro Colmenero, Topuria said the following [translated from Spanish], “Probably a three-weight world champion, this is my goal. You’re not going to see me in the welterweight division like this, skinny. You’re going to see me different. That’s the goal. Move up to the lightweight division, get that belt, then move up to the welterweight division.” With some of the most well-rounded skill set in the organization, Topuria can be a legitimate threat in the two weight classes above 145 pounds.

Ilia ͏Topuria h͏as never ͏directly ͏tar͏geted Shavkat Rakhm͏onov,͏ ͏but his ambiti͏on to ͏become͏ the UFC’s fir͏st three-weight champion has certainly irked͏ t͏h͏e Kazakh warrior. Before committing to another weight class altogether, Topuria has to clean out his division first. Furthermore, it’s more likely that he may challenge for the lightweight title before moving up another weight class. However, could history repeat itself with Topuria getting a Conor McGregor-like reputation with his featherweight run? The Irishman jumped two weight divisions to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 196. Will Dana White allow Topuria to do the same if he maintains this momentum?

So far, Topuria has called out the lightweight and welterweight champions, however, it remains to be seen if Muhammad will still be champion by the time Topuria moves up to welterweight. Shavkat Ra͏khmonov i͏s a͏lso ͏in l͏ine to ͏compete f͏or͏ the ti͏t͏le ͏and is͏ favor͏ed͏ ͏to defeat ͏Be͏lal Muhammad to become ͏the 170-pound world champ͏ion. Meanwhile, T͏opur͏ia has ͏even emphasized that it would be easy for him to ͏get past “Remember The N͏ame.”

Ilia Topuria beefs up with Belal Muhammad

While having a conversation with the media, the featherweight champion of the world emphasized that he has what it takes to become the first three-weight champion of the UFC. In his conversation, he explained that it is quite easy to be a fighter in the welterweight division considering that their champion is nothing more than a ‘b*m’. “If Belal remains champion, it’s a walk in the park,” said Ilia Topuria.

He further added, “It would be a walk in the park for me to go up and win the welterweight title. But walk in the park [yawns]. That’s it. He’s a b*m. Really, really bad – a champion who hasn’t finished anyone, hasn’t had knockdowns. What kind of champion are you? This morning I woke up and saw him say, ‘If I see [Topuria], I’m going to slap him. It’s like everyone has a street, gangster attitude. Sometimes I wonder what they’re doing fighting in the UFC and dedicating themselves to a pro sport.”

His scathing remarks hit the right spot as Belal Muhammad came back with a sharp retort, “Didn’t this dork just buy a fake BMF belt to pose with? He’s starting to become the Georgian version of Colby Covington.” Ilia Topuria, in turn, used a slur most famously used by former UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal – “Belal “c**tch sniffer” Muhammad.”

In search of triple UFC gold, Topuria might have to fight at lightweight before climbing up to welterweight. At the same time, Islam Makhachev showed an interest in challenging for the 170-lbs title. However, with Belal Muhammad as champ, Makhachev might not challenge him since they’re both teammates. This could potentially open up a spot for ‘El Matador’ if Muhammad is still the champ by the time Topuria gets to him.

The back and forth between Topuria and Muhammad has been quite entertaining, however, will it amount to an official fight? Will we see Ilia Topuria face off against either Belal Muhammad or Shavkat Rakhmonov sometime in the future? Let us know in the comments below.