Ilia Topuria has been garnering quite a bit of attention from the fighting community for his words about the Dagestani team. From wanting a fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov to lashing out at the lightweight and welterweight champions, Topuria has generated a boatload of heat around his social media profiles. Needless to say, Team Khabib wasn’t one to back down even a single inch. 

As the heat continues to rise between the Georgian champion and the Dagestanis, let’s take the time and look at the history of this scuffle. After all, we might just be looking at a possible matchup.

Ilia Topuria thinks he can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov, taunts Islam Makhachev

The online heat between Topuria and Nurmagomedov began in February 2024, when the featherweight champion challenged ‘The Eagle’ during his moment of admiration. Being one of the most celebrated fighters in the world of mixed martial arts, Nurmagomedov had received quite a few callouts from his fellow contenders. These challenges came in from wrestling arenas as well. But to think that he’d still be in demand after years of retirement was what shocked the fighting community.

Soon after ‘El Matador’ defeated Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 and claimed the featherweight throne, he revealed the details of his dream rival. Topuria said, “My dream rival? I would be happy to enter the Octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov.” But why did he want to fight someone who has already concluded his fighting career? Well, it’s all because of the Dagestani’s fighting history.

Topuria went on, “He had an undefeated record at 29-0 and he had an attractive record for me, then also history. He is a worthy and honorable champion for me.” And when he was asked if he could ever defeat the former undefeated UFC lightweight champion, all Topuria had to say was “100%.” 

Later on, Topuria proceeded to taunt Islam Makhachev. Topuria is seemingly done with the featherweight division, as he has begun eyeing the lightweight category. And to solidify his stance about moving up in the weight class, he set his crosshairs on Makhachev. He said, “[Islam] is a great fighter. Sometimes he talks too much but we can always resolve it in the octagon. Not in the streets because I’ll have to pay for his medical bills.”

But it’s not just ‘The Eagle’ or Makhachev that the Georgian mixed martial artist has targeted. Even Nurmagomedov’s cousin isn’t safe from Topuria’s heat. However, Usman Nurmagomedov isn’t looking up for a fight.

Exchanges between Ilia Topuria and Usman Nurmagomedov

No doubt, claiming the lightweight belt was the next step for ‘El Matador’ on the road to greatness. He pointed out that Makhachev was indeed a great fighter and asked for a fight in the Octagon.

But when he claimed that Makhachev wouldn’t fare well in a street fight, Team Khabib pounced on the featherweight champ and warned him of what would happen if they ever found him on the streets. Nurmagomedov’s cousin also joined the heat and quoted, “When did you ever fight on the streets, European boy?” Even the welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad swooped in for Makhachev’s defense and asked Topuria to focus on his upcoming fight 

When Red Corner MMA shared Usman Nurmagomedov’s words on X, Topuria was infuriated. In his rage, he dug up the Bellator champion’s history with failed dr*g tests. Reacting to the social media post, the Spaniard wrote, “It has been a long time, to be honest. How are you doing with dr*gs? Are you still on steroids?”

Even so, the Dagestani team is not interested in getting into any additional disputes with the Spaniard. Instead, all they could do was extend an invitation for him to kick back and relax on the picturesque beach.

Team Khabib calls for a truce with ‘El Matador’

After Topuria unleashed all hell on team Khabib, Abubakar Nurmagomedov took to Instagram to conclude the story. He shared a picture of himself in the iconic ‘Alhamdulillah’ style, and captioned, “Ilia Topuria, why do you need all this? Fly to me, let’s rest on the shores of the Indian Ocean.”

But Topuria wasn’t going to stay quiet. In a recent conversation with the famed MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, on his talk show, the Spaniard dismissed all the threats and invitations from the Dagestani team. Although Topuria pointed out that he didn’t have any personal rivalry with Makhachev, he, however, wasn’t happy about the response he received from the LW champ’s teammates. He said, “I said something like ‘I want to face him in the octagon’ and all his cousins came out ‘When I see you in the street. When I see you around, I’m gonna do this and that.’ Oh, shut the fu*k up. You are not gonna do anything. So shut up.” 

Even though Topuria and Team Khabib were involved in a cold war, ‘El Matador’ never took his eyes off Max Holloway. The two are set to fight each other in the main event of UFC 308, with the featherweight championship belt on the line. Will Topuria get to fight Makhachev anytime soon? Well, that’s something only time can tell. 

What are your thoughts on the rising rivalry between Topuria and Team Khabib? Let us know what you think of the featherweight champ’s callouts in the comments down below.