“Islam has not agreed to this fight. He maintains the position that Topuria needs to earn a title shot (at 155).” Islam Makhachev’s team told Russian media agency TASS regarding a title fight against Ilia Topuria. Despite being on a roll at the moment, ‘El Matador’s decision to move to the lightweight division has been met with skepticism. Certain fellow lightweights, like Paddy Pimblett, claim that the outgoing featherweight champion is “tiny.” However, the Georgian-Spaniard bluntly dismissed those doubts, and even issued a defiant message to Islam Makhachev, who rejected the idea of facing yet another 145fer.

The Dagestani has been the unstoppable boogeyman of the lightweight division, racking up wins and setting new records. He’s already established himself as perhaps the greatest UFC lightweight fighter with four title defenses to his name. But Topuria, who claims to be the best ‘lightweight’, believes to be on a whole other “level” and claims that neither Makhachev nor any other 155fer could match up to him inside the Octagon.

“I am the lightweight world champion… I wouldn’t sign up for a competition without knowing if I am going to win or not, without being sure I will win. No one is at my level,” Ilia Topuria told Men’s Health magazine in a recent Spanish edition. “I’m pretty motivated. I’m excited to experience this new adventure, to move up and change weight classes, like changing houses, locations, and surroundings.”

But what about the doubts surrounding his stature as a 155fer? Well, his coach Jorge Climent had already revealed that ‘El Matador’ walks around at 187lbs when not in camp. So, a massive cut to 145lbs feels like hell! Moreover, the soon-to-be former featherweight champion claimed that his body actually works well when he’s under the 70kg mark or 155lbs. It is safe to say that Topuria doesn’t go through as much trouble making the lightweight limit as he does while making it to 145 pounds. With that said, he claims that the division is up for a rude awakening when he returns to the Octagon.

“What people still don’t understand is that I don’t leave my weight class because it’s super easy for me to make the weight; I’m small at 70 kilos. My anatomy naturally belongs to this weight class,” Topuria added. “So more than one person is going to encounter some problems that I’m sure they won’t be able to solve, but it will be even more fun to experience it in person.”

While Islam Makhachev feels like he’s got nothing to gain from fighting Topuria, his former teammate and ex-UFC double champion Daniel Cormier has a different take on the situation. In fact, ‘DC’ appeared to be in favor of ‘El Matador’

Daniel Cormier weighs in on Dana White booking Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev

Much like Alex Pereira, who’s arguably the biggest UFC star right now, besides the legendary Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier hasn’t forgotten how big of a star Topuria has become. His dominant performances have earned him a mass fan following, especially in his home country of Spain, where even major soccer stars, like Sergio Ramos, show their support for ‘El Matador’.

‘DC’ claims that Dana White is aware of all the noise regarding Topuria, and he wouldn’t want to “waste” the prospect of pitting him against Islam Makhachev because of something other than his sheer popularity. Topuria has been asked by his lightweight peers to show what he’s got in a non-title fight to make a case for himself to become the #1 contender to fight for the gold. But that could be a bad decision, according to Cormier, as one loss could derail his entire momentum.

“I think Topuria should get an opportunity. Because I wouldn’t want to waste it… I think the sentiment that we share with each other is what most feel. He’s a good-looking kid! He seems to have that star quality. He has a country behind him with Spain,” Daniel Cormier stated on a recent edition of the Good Guy/Bad Guy show.

“You don’t want to waste it because those guys are dangerous. Oliveira is dangerous, Tsarukyan is dangerous and everybody’s dangerous. You may want to put him in that title fight because you don’t want to waste the opportunity. Because what if he doesn’t get there because one of the other guys beats him?”

Well, what do you make of Ilia Topuria’s claims about his chances in the lightweight division? Do you think he can shock the world and hand Islam Mkahachev one of the biggest upsets in UFC history if they ever butt heads? Drop your comments below.