Ilia Topuria Threatens Islam Makhachev in the Open as Featherweight Champ Hits the Alarm on Dagestani’s Title Reign

The newly crowned UFC featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria, looks to be eyeing to grab another title at a different division in the UFC. Ever since winning UFC gold, the UFC featherweight has been throwing out statements about wanting to fight the lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, for the division’s strap. However, it doesn’t seem to be sitting too well with the No.1 PFP fighter in the UFC.

Due to callouts, Islam Makhachev responded by agreeing to fight while also making fun of the featherweight champ’s height. Notably, this seems to have triggered another response from “El Matador”.

Ilia Topuria taunts Islam Makhachev in response to the lightweight champ’s comment

Ilia Topuria, in an interview with Eurosport, talked about his aspirations after becoming the featherweight champion. He pointed out some people on his fight list after his success in the promotion. UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev was among the names of the fighters that he wished to fight.

Islam Makhachev, having defended his title twice against the former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, seems to have gotten annoyed with the callout. He responded, stating, “Another short guy is talking. Another short guy wants to be smashed.”

After the callout, “El Matador” took to his Instagram to taunt the lightweight champion. He shared a video of Islam Makhachev getting KO’d by Adriano Martins back in 2015 on his Instagram Story. However, that wasn’t all, as Topuria tagged Makhachev in the story with a caption, which wrote, “[Translated] The boy is cutting you off.”

Given the back-and-forth between the two, it would seem like they would face off against one another sooner than expected. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain whether Topuria should move up a weight class before defending his title in the featherweight division. But what did he say during his callout of Makhachev?

Also Read: “Poetry in Motion”- Alexander Volkanovski Hit With Reality Check as Ilia Topuria’s Boxing Credentials Get Applauded by Ex-Champ Before UFC 298

Topuria’s statement at the Eurosport interview

Upon being asked what the featherweight’s goals were after winning the UFC featherweight title, Ilia Topuria answered by giving some big names for his title defenses. “Topuria”, though previously stating that no featherweight deserves a shot at the title at the moment, did reveal that he wished to defend his title against Max Holloway. Among those fighters, however, were also the likes of Conor McGregor and Sean O’Malley.

For when he would jump to the lightweight division, he said, “[Translated] I want to fight again before the end of the year, and then the next target would be Islam Makhachev. That fight would be the one that would bring me closest to number one in the pound-for-pound ranking. I see myself as a double champion.”

What do you think about the list of fighters the featherweight wishes to defend his title against? And should he move to the lightweight division after just one title defense? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Also Read: Islam Makhachev Accepts Ilia Topuria’s Callout With Unexpected Response to Featherweight Champ, Fans React