Islam Makhachev Wants Ilia Topuria to Earn Lightweight Title Shot

🗣️ Islam Makhachev on Ilia Topuria:

“I heard [Ilia] has problems cutting weight… he’s probably already
gained fat from the good life…

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Let him move up, and when he earns his chance we will definitely
fight.”

🎥 @MatchTV
#UFC
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— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS)
February 14, 2025

Islam
Makhachev believes Ilia
Topuria’s primary motivation to move up is his inability to cut
weight.

Topuria has recently been planning a move up to lightweight to
challenge Makhachev for the lightweight title. The ever-confident
featherweight champ believes he can have his way with Makhachev,
currently the
UFC’s pound-for-pound king.

However, Makhachev isn’t willing to offer Topuria an immediate
title shot upon moving to lightweight. The lightweight champ
believes Topuria’s plans to move up to 155 pounds stem from an
inability to make 145 pounds due to the “good life.” While he is
willing to fight Topuria at some point, he doesn’t believe “El
Matador’s” one featherweight title defense warrants an immediate
title shot.

“I have heard he has problems cutting weight, that he can no longer
fit into the limit in his weight class,” Makhachev told MatchTV.
“He’s already probably gained fat from the good life, and he
already wants to leave the belt and move up. But I’m not going to
give him a chance right away because he hasn’t done all the work in
his weight class… He has only one defense. He has other contenders
he should have beaten, but he doesn’t want to cut weight anymore.
So let him move up, and when he earns his chance, we’ll definitely
fight.”

Topuria won the featherweight title by knocking out Alexander
Volkanovski at UFC 298 last year and defended the belt by
handing Max
Holloway his first ever knockout loss at UFC 308.
Meanwhile, Makhachev is undefeated since 2015 and has defended his
lightweight strap four times, most recently against Renato
“Moicano” Carneiro via submission at UFC 311
last month.