Ilia
Topuria currently doesn’t appear to be interested in defending
his featherweight strap against anyone from his division, much to
the ire of surging contender Movsar
Evloev.
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Oozing confidence leading up to his featherweight title shot
against Alexander
Volkanovski, Topuria backed up his words with action,
dethroning “The Great” via a Round 2 knockout at
UFC 298 earlier this month. “El Matador” had previously made
clear his unwillingness to defend his strap against any of the
perennial featherweight contenders: Max
Holloway, Yair
Rodriguez or Brian
Ortega.
Topuria issued a callout to Conor
McGregor in his post-fight interview and more recently,
targeted retired lightweight king Khabib
Nurmagomedov.
“I would be happy to enter the Octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov,”
Topuria said. “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.”
Topuria also mocked Islam
Makhachev by posting a clip of the reigning lightweight champ’s
lone career loss, which came in his UFC debut against Adriano
Martins.
Ilia Toouria taunts Islam Makhachev on
Instagram 👀pic.twitter.com/jm78TMB6Iz— MMA Mania (@mmamania)
February 26, 2024
While Evloev is the only other undefeated featherweight in the
rankings, Topuria previously
dismissed the Russian as being unworthy of a title shot yet.
However, Topuria’s latest callouts did not sit well with Evloev,
who r responded online.
“Conor, Islam, Khabib, Mayweather, Muhammad
Ali, Messi… Who else do you want to fight rather than the only
undefeated fighter in your division?” Evloev wrote.
While both Evloev and Topuria are undefeated, “El Matador” has
scored 13 of his 15 career wins via stoppage, while the Russian
hasn’t finished any of his eight UFC wins.