One would have expected the rivalry between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria to end as they move on to fight different opponents. Turns out, not to be as Topuria has fired another verbal volley at the Dagestani fighter ahead of his title fight at UFC 317.
Finding it difficult to cut weight in the featherweight division, Topuria vacated his title to move up to the lightweight division. With that move, the Spaniard called out the reigning champion Makhachev for a title fight. The Pound4Pound number one engaged in a verbal spat with Topuria.
However, he decided not to fight the new challenger. Makhachev, in turn, replicated Topuria’s move and climbed up a weight class to welterweight. Having vacated his lightweight championship belt, Makhachev is slated to fight Jack Della Maddalena late this year for the welterweight title.
Despite both fighters moving on to their own paths to new championship belts, animosity remains. Topuria fanned it once again in a recent interview with ESPN. The UFC 317 headliner goaded Makhachev for ‘running away’ when asked why the fight between them never happened.
“To be honest, I don’t know. He [Makhachev] decided to move up to next weight division, as I did,” said Topuria. “He talked too much in the beginning. But when he had to take the final decision, he decided to run away. I wasn’t expecting that from him. But at the end of the day, it is what it is. I’m fighting for gold, which was my main goal since the beginning.”
Many believe that Makhachev’s camp was never interested in fighting Topuria. While they maintained that the Spaniard suffering an easy defeat would affect Makhachev’s legacy, the real reason could have been the fear of losing against one of the best boxers in the UFC.
How Islam Makhachev once downplayed Ilia Topuria’s legacy
Islam Makhachev wasn’t always against fighting Ilia Topuria to defend his erstwhile lightweight championship belt. While the reigning champ proclaimed, “We will fight,” he did put a condition on giving Topuria a chance at his title.
“I’m not going to give him a shot right away because he hasn’t done all the work he was supposed to in his weight class. There are still contenders he needs to beat, but he doesn’t want to cut weight anymore. Let him move up and earn his shot, and we’ll definitely fight,” declared Makhachev
The comment invoked a sharp response from Topuria, who called Makhachev a ‘hypocrite’. Topuria called out Makhachev for vacating his belt for a direct shot at welterweight title while denying the same to him in the featherweight division.
“[Makhachev] is the biggest hypocrite I’ve ever seen,” said Topuria in a press conference. “He said he didn’t want to give me the opportunity because I was the little guy, and now the little guy is the one looking for the same opportunity I was looking for. How are you going to criticize my decision when you’re doing the same thing right now? I’ve never seen more hypocrisy in my life.”
Clearly, the two former champions won’t see eye to eye for a very long time. While fans would love to see the beef settle through a bout, it rests on the shoulders of Dana White & Co. to make it happen. Deciding on a weight class would certainly be a contentious issue, which perhaps UFC is not willing to touch.
