“I’m going to ask everyone to please not ask me any questions about my sports career, as I’m not going to answer. The name of the victim is still unknown.” Ilia Topuria issued a warning last week while appearing for the WOW 17 presser. But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out whom the human sledgehammer wants to fight next. ‘El Matador’, of course, shocked the world by suddenly vacating his 145lbs belt, and moving up to the shark-infested waters of lightweight for good. And since the Spanish-Georgian superstar has long been talking about wanting to fight 155lbs champ Islam Makhachev, it is clear who he wants to face next.

However, the Dagestani juggernaut and his team have expressed their reservations about granting a title shot to Topuria out of the box. They want the soon-to-be former 145lbs champ to first take on another top-ranked 155-pounder and actually prove that he belongs at lightweight before he fights for the gold. So does that mean ‘El Matador’ has moved on, at least temporarily from Makhachev? Well, according to Topuria’s friend and teammate, Guram Kutateladze, this isn’t the case. In fact, the Spanish-Georgian has a burning desire to get his hands on the Dagestani champion.

“I think he [Topuria] has another aim and another goal just right now. He also has the  [lightweight] belt in the aim. And there is another person– Islam– who is having the belt right now and he’s the aim. He is the next victim as I understand and as I know. That’s where he aims. I think it’s gonna be one of the greatest fights, if not the greatest in UFC history. So time will show and we will see,” Kutateladze said in a recent interview.

Now whether Topuria gets to his aim of fighting Makhachev right away or has to fight a top contender first remains to be seen. After all, maybe Makhachev could be convinced of fighting ‘El Matador’ next since that, by far, is the biggest fight that could be made in the division, perhaps even in the entire sport other than Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall.

Not to mention from a purely quality point of view, Makhachev-Topuria is worth its weight in gold. Both men seem nigh unbeatable and when these two titans enter the Octagon, it will be MMA’s version of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. But if Topuria goes off and fights another top contender, it may well diminish the value of their super-fight, as Michael Bisping pointed out recently.

Michael Bisping on why Ilia Topuria shouldn’t face anyone other than Islam Makhachev next

Michael Bisping feels that if he had to bet, “I think Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria” will be next. But if it isn’t, the UFC commentator thinks that Topuria’s next opponent could either be Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, or Justin Gaethje. And for good reason! The Armenian was set to face Makhachev at UFC 311 but had to pull out at the last moment owing to a back injury. The Brazilian has been waiting for his rematch against the Dagestani since UFC 294 (where Oliveira was forced to pull out due to a nasty cut). Moreover, his impressive outing against Michael Chandler at UFC 309 has further solidified his claim for another shot at the champ.

Meanwhile, ‘The Highlight’ recently picked up an impressive win against Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313. Moreover, the Arizona native is currently #3 in the rankings and has never faced the champ before. In fact, the Dagestani has explicitly said that he wants to fight Gaethje in July, so ‘The Highlight’ may well fight for the title next instead of Topuria.

Either way, Bisping feels that having Topuria fight someone other than the champ will put the Makhachev-Topuria super-fight at great risk. “If he lost to them (other contenders), there’s a massive market opportunity lost there. Because Ilia vs. Islam, Ilia still being in a lot of people’s minds as the featherweight champion against the lightweight champion, there’s something there. If he loses to Gaethje and two or three fights later gets a shot, it’s not quite the same sell,” Bisping warned on his YouTube channel.

What do you think about Kutateladze’s revelations about Topuria’s plans at lightweight?