Ilia Topuria’s rise in the UFC has been monumental with a perfect 16-0 record full of top-tier names, along with him being the youngest in the current roster of UFC champions at 27. With highlight reel performances and finishes inside the Octagon, fans are clamoring to know who is next in line for the Spanish-Georgian fighter. Not just fans, but Topuria himself is eager to know the name of his next opponent. One name he has seriously thrown into the mix is current UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.

Ahead of his fight against Max Holloway, Ilia Topuria made some bold predictions about his future and Islam was drawn into the mix. Topuria asserted that he’s just as ready for a rematch against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski to defend his title as against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

“If they call me and they want me to move up to the lightweight division, I will be OK with that moving up and be the first one to submit Islam. If they want me to keep on defending that belt in the featherweight division, I will be OK with that, too. Let’s leave that decision to the UFC,” Topuria had said. His coach Jorge Climent also finds Islam to be the next fight of Ilia. Well, has to be, since Topuria has already outlined his ambitious dream of becoming the UFC’s first-ever 3-division champ. But Camp Islam does not seem to be buying the idea.

In an interview with Karim Moustaine, Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez said it makes no sense for Islam to fight Ilia. “He’s had only one true lightweight title defense and it was against Dustin…So it’s better to fight a legit lightweight like Arman Tsarukyan….it doesn’t benefit us it benefits Topuria,” Mendez said. Interestingly, Climent also knows that. He had previously admitted that for this reason, it is difficult for Ilia to get to fight against Islam “unless you’re a Conor (McGregor)”. So isn’t there any chance?

Well, UFC President Dana White does not absolutely discard the idea, but he has a rider, and that echoed Mendez. Talking to TMZ Sports in October, White had said, “Before we start talking about guys moving up to other weight classes, I mean, look at Max Holloway. When he moved up, he had wiped out the entire division [and proved to be] the best 145-pounder, and then Volkanovski [did the same]. So there’s plenty of challenges [left] for him [Topuria] at 145,” White had said. But looks like fans are in no mood to lend an ear to the argument.

Just 2 days back, Topuria turned to his social media with an ask: “TOPURIA VS?”. ESPN MMA posted a screenshot of it while also picking Alexander Volkanovski, Islam Makhachev, and Diego Lopez as three possible opponents. And despite all the logic and counter-logic, the fans favored Islam against Topuria with an overwhelming majority. But wait, fans are not the only ones who commented.

Diego Lopes added a cryptic response through a series of emojis: “😏🤓😎”. Well, it won’t be a bad matchup. After all, the Brazilian has serious knockout power and even has more finishes (10 KOs, 8 submissions) than the featherweight champion. In a recent interview, he also stated that he wasn’t afraid of facing the champ.

“I’m telling you, I respect everyone, but I’m not afraid of anyone. If there’s anything I don’t have, it’s fear. I think I’ve shown that in all my fights. I’ve shown that I’m not afraid of anyone. As many times as he wants to point to the ground, I will plant my feet in the middle of the cage and throw down. It’s that easy,” Lopes had said. So is the comment a desperate attempt from Lopes? Can not deny that, because apart from Makhachev, the other fighter Topuria has spoken highly about is Volkanovski.

“We’re going to do it again; you deserve it. He’s made seven defenses or I don’t know how many times. If anyone deserves it, it’s him. Let’s do it, brother.” ‘El Matador’ said after his win against Holloway. To clarify, Alexander Volkanovski defended his title five times. But who is stopping the fans from going wild? It’s neither Lopes nor Volkanovski, but the 26-1-0 lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is all they want. Taking to the comments, fans made sure that the UFC gets the message loud and clear.

Fans root for a new challenge for Ilia Topuria inside the cage

A few months ago, Ilia Topuria took some jibes at various UFC fighters on the Ariel Helwani Show. But while many expected him to speak against other featherweights, ‘El Matador’ took aim at the lightweight Islam Makhachev instead. Topuria revealed to Helwani that he eventually wants to move up a weight class and fight the Dagestani phenom.

Fans are also rallying for the same as many comments poured in mentioning the lightweight champion. They wrote comments such as, “Islam is the only right answer”, “After he beat my glorious king, Max, he definitely deserves the Islam fight” and “Islam, he has a way better chance than people think.” It truly would be an interesting fight since the UFC will get yet another double champ and a possible Fight of the Year contender with the matchup. But Topuria’s submission claim did not sit well with Islam’s coach.

“To be the first one to submit Islam is a big thing to throw out there. Let’s see if the fight happens first… His coach said that he submits everybody and beats everybody at everything. Maybe [Topuria] is that confident because of what he does over there. But what’s the quality of opponents he’s doing it to? I don’t know that,” Mendezhad said earlier this month.

One fan raised the case for Makhachev’s big at realizing double gold – “Islam deserves a chance at double champ more than any other fighter, let alone Topuria, who has 1 title defence.”However, it’s important to note that Islam Makhachev wouldn’t win the featherweight title if Topuria moved up to fight him. But what the man in conversation himself has to say about Ilia?

“Ilia is good, yes. I think in my opinion he has good wrestling skills, but he always uses his boxing. And when you have good boxing, your opponent has good boxing, it’s a little bit dangerous,” Islam had said ahead of Ilia’s fight against Holloway. Interestingly, Mendez had also branded Ilia as the “best boxer in the UFC.”

On the other hand, there was a contingent of fans who wanted a rematch between Ilia Topuria and Alexander Volkanovski. A revenge story is always sweet, and fans believe that there is still a lot to be settled between the two featherweights. Speaking on Volkanovski’s behalf, fans posted comments like, “Volk rematch. Volk was on a CRAZY win streak at FeatherWeight before he lost to [Topuria]”, “Volk to end unfinished business”, and “It’s Volk. It’s always been Volk. Delete these posts.”

For now, there is no official confirmation on who Ilia Topuria’s next opponent will be. But with so many possible contenders, it is no surprise that the featherweight division is one of the most exciting in the UFC. What do you think? Who will Ilia Topuria face next? Let us know in the comments.