Ilia Topuria has made it clear that Islam Makhachev will not receive any special treatment if he ever decides to return to the UFC lightweight division.
Topuria is currently set to challenge Charles Oliveira for the vacant 155-pound title at UFC 317 in June. While he`s eager to add another championship to his record, he didn`t secure the fight against Makhachev he initially wanted. Instead, Makhachev is moving up in weight later this year to face welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena, though he has hinted at potentially coming back to his former division to reclaim his title someday.
Mirroring Makhachev`s apparent lack of interest in facing Topuria when “El Matador” moved up from featherweight, Topuria is now returning the sentiment. He informed the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter that if he returns to lightweight, he`ll have to earn his place back into title contention.
“From the beginning, he tried to give the impression that he had some sort of decision [to make],” Topuria stated during a press conference promoting his upcoming fight. “He also said about a week ago, `My move up to welterweight isn’t going to matter because I’m not planning on vacating my title.` You remember that right? And I had said before that I didn’t move up to lightweight to ask anyone for anything and that I was the one in charge.”
“So, who got their way, who did what they said?” Topuria continued. “As always, him or me? So after this fight when I have the belt, he can get in line, which is a long one and someone’s eyes will be shining.”
Although Makhachev publicly stated he wouldn`t vacate his lightweight title when moving up, events unfolded differently in reality.
Just like Topuria had to give up his featherweight title when moving to a new division, Makhachev ultimately had to relinquish his lightweight belt to pursue a second championship in the welterweight category.
This means neither fighter currently holds the status to become a “champ-champ.” Topuria, having struggled with weight cuts to 145 pounds, has affirmed that his future is solely at lightweight.
While Makhachev might have differing thoughts on a potential return to lightweight, Topuria seems prepared to flip the script on him, insisting the former champion would need to earn his way back to a title shot rather than receiving preferential treatment.
The verbal exchange between Topuria and Makhachev has intensified recently. However, they are not scheduled to compete against each other next, and it remains uncertain if this potential showdown will ever materialize in the future.
