2024 was a tremendously entertaining year for the fighting community. We saw titles change hands in historic bouts. But one thing was common in most of the championship stories. Almost every champion had a challenger from another weight class (including the BMF) that they fought or are yet to fight. The most prominent ones were Ilia Topuria wanting a fight against Islam Makhachev, and Jon Jones painting a target on Alex Pereira. Topuria and Makhachev have been going on about it for way too long. And now, the featherweight champion has sent yet another warning to the lightweight champ via Instagram. 

‘El Matador’ met the man with hands of stone in Sydney for UFC 312. Needless to say, the undisputed UFC champions posed for clicks and shared the picture on their respective social media profiles. The light heavyweight champion took to X and captioned the picture, “2024 was ours. CHAMA 🔥” Of course, it was a good year for ‘Poatan’. He defended his light heavyweight championship title thrice in 2024, and all of them came via knockouts. That was another reason why he got the Fighter of the Year award at the 16th Annual World MMA Awards over Topuria. 

But the Georgian-Spanish champion had eyes set on the future. He shared the aura-rich picture on his Instagram profile and captioned, “I hope you enjoyed our 2024, but 2025 will be even better !!!” Topuria had his eyes set on greatness in the realm of mixed martial arts. ‘El Matador’ demolished divisional legends in Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski – he KO’d both of them and Max was fresh from that UFC 300 BMF title-winning KO. So, it’s not surprising that he started calling some shots, big ones.

Topuria has even raised the hype around the hypothetical matchup against the lightweight champion by claiming that he could finish Makhachev. On top of that, he seemed to believe that he could make it look easy.

But one thing has been obstructing the featherweight champ’s move. There are still fighters at large waiting for their chance to fight Topuria in the 145-pound division. But Chael Sonnen had a different interpretation for him. Let’s take a look at what ‘The American Gangster’ had to say about the featherweight king’s desires.

UFC veteran gives Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev a reality check

On February 6, 2025, ‘The Bad Guy’ took to his YouTube talk show and revealed his thoughts on Topuria’s desire to move up in the weight class. He said, “If Topuria really wants to do this, he’s going to have to start with the truth. If his truth is, ‘I can’t make 145 anymore,’ let me just encourage you to stop. If his truth has nothing to do with something personal against Islam, let me just encourage you to stop.”

‘The American Gangster’ had a suggestion for the undefeated featherweight champion. And it depended on the condition that fighting Islam Makhachev was the most important thing to Ilia Topuria. He suggested, “Then don’t make 145 again. Make it known that you won’t be making 145 again. Declare yourself a 155-er, and you will instantly be the number one contender.”

Even Makhachev put forth a condition for Topuria. And that was to clear out the featherweight division first and then fight a couple of bouts in the lightweight realm, before coming up with a LW title shot. But ultimately, the Dagestani champ agreed to give the Spaniard a title shot. However, the famed Georgian MMA journalist, Giorgi Kokiashvili, revealed that although the rumors about Topuria vs. Makhachev are skyrocketing, they were nothing but rumors.

So it seems like Topuria’s biggest bargaining chip is also his biggest hurdle. Max Holloway declared a permanent move to lightweight immediately after the loss to Ilia Topuria. A wise move at this stage of his career where he’s beaten everyone but Volkanovski and Topuria at 145. He is even open to defending the BMF belt at 155 in a rematch against the younger Topuria brother. But a lightweight matchup does not seem to be what the UFC big guns were planning on making for the featherweight champ. And all we can do is wait and watch the story unfold.

Sonnen’s advice is logical. Defend the belt a few more times and earn the right to move up. Or vacate it, move up permanently, and earn a title shot at lightweight. If he can beat Max again, this time at lightweight, surely the UFC would entertain a fight against Makhachev. The financial aspect of the PPV alone would be enough to sway the needle favorably.

What are your thoughts on Topuria’s desire to fight Makhachev? Do you think he can secure a win against the Dagestani champion? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.