Ilia Topuria isn’t backing down from Islam Makhachev, even after the lightweight champion dismissed the idea of a potential superfight. However, the undefeated Georgian-Spanish star, and former featherweight king, is determined to make the fight happen. “You’re gonna have to fight me,” Topuria declared confidently during his debut appearance on the JRE MMA Show #166. Despite Topuria’s bold challenge, Team Makhachev remains firm in his stance—uninterested, at least for now. This was made even clearer when Khabib Nurmagomedov dismissed Topuria’s legitimacy as a proper 155-pounder in a conversation with Adam Zubayraev. “Imagine Topuria moves up and Islam beats him. Then Topuria fights again, he loses again. So basically, he was a nobody at 155.”

Recently, former 2-time UFC champion Israel Adesanya‘s coach touched on this issue and arrived at the judgment that all of this fuss should have been avoided. Being a champion often comes with the responsibility of being able to step up to any contender, whether the contender in question is deserving or not. That, according to Eugene Baremen, is what champions are supposed to do. But then again, the City Kickboxing head coach also shed light on the need to give the fans what they want.

Topuria is rightfully generating the kind of buzz that could propel him into a blockbuster showdown with Makhachev. The hype surrounding the undefeated juggernaut makes the idea of a clash with the Dagestani more enticing, considering it would almost be a champion vs. champion bout. Considering Topuria did not lose his belt and vacated it to move to lightweight. This is where Adesanya’s coach has weighed in, urging Makhachev to consider the massive numbers a fight with Topuria could draw. From a business standpoint, it’s a superfight with undeniable appeal.

“Now, because you’re a champion and you just fight whoever they put in front of you, like, it doesn’t matter if it’s a featherweight or a flyweight. Your job is they, the UFC lines them up, you knock them down. That’s your job,” Eugene Bareman told Submission Radio, as he backed the former featherweight champion. “It doesn’t matter what the weight division that [your opponent] comes from. You know, you mentioned all those names, but… what’s the biggest by a country mile out of all those names? What sticks out the most? What do people want to see the most? Yeah, it’s Topuria.”

Besides, Israel Adesanya has also never backed out from any challenge and has fought any contender that the UFC pairs him up with. So, maybe his coach wants to see the reigning lightweight champion do the same and make the most out of his time as champion. Ilia Topuria, meanwhile, is making every move he can to see that he gets the fight that Dana White has promised him. Besides the comments he made during Joe Rogan’s podcast, he took an even sharper dig at Islam Makhachev and his mentor on social media. Here’s what he had to say.

Ilia Topuria claims Khabib knows what he’s capable of against Islam Makhachev

One of the primary reasons why Khabib Nurmagomedov does not want his protégé to fight Islam Makhachev is because of the way his wins against Alexander Volkanovski were treated. It was as if most people expected the lightweight champion to win, which he did. So, it didn’t do him too well when it came to building his legacy. “In terms of legacy, for Islam, for his resume, I understand Islam’s risks,” ‘The Eagle’ stated in that regard. But Topuria claims there is a different story behind Khabib’s dismissal.

Khabib Nurmagomedov did not discount how good of a fighter Ilia Topuria is. But the Georgian-Spanish star claims that the 29-0 legend is also aware that ‘La Leyenda’ can do the unthinkable and beat his golden boy, since people aren’t expecting it. “Khabib knows I’m the one to take the belt from Islam. Only reason he doesn’t want Islam to fight me,” the 28-year-old tweeted.

Besides, Khabib had previously claimed that he believes that Ilia Topuria could beat someone as good as Charles Oliveira, so could the former featherweight champion be telling the truth about the reason he states behind ‘The Eagle’s snub? Let us know in the comments down below.