If a year ago, someone said, the biggest fight under the UFC banner of the last 5 years hinged on what Belal Muhammad did, you would think yet another analyst was overblowing the gravity of a situation once again. However, as unlikely as that sounds, it does appear to be the case.
And this time, it’s not Chael Sonnen or Brendan Schaub making fantasy matchups, it’s something former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria proposed some time ago. And now, has been confirmed by UFC president Dana White.
Next week at welterweight champion Belal Muhammad walks into the octagon in Montreal, Canada, for the very first time since winning the title back at UFC 304 last July. Joining him is Australian prospect Jack Della Maddalena.
And watching the fight in anticipation, with a little confusion about whether he should cheer for his friend or hope for a legacy-making choice at the end of the PPV, is lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. His close friend and UFC veteran Daniel Cormier was happy to break down this complex situation, on which the future of at least two divisions hinges, with childlike giddiness.
“Islam is literally standing on the doorsteps of a championship fight. And the only reason he’s not going in to fight is because his friend Belal Muhammad is the champion. Jack Della Maddalena wins this weekend, Islam’s getting a title fight. That’s what Dana told us last night,” Cormier claimed on his YouTube channel.
Earlier yesterday, during the UFC 315 press conference, UFC boss White didn’t need to be uncharacteristically prodded to reveal that the next lightweight title fight hinged on the UFC 315 headliner.
DC also explained that at the end of the day, Topuria might as well be called the new ‘Mystic Mac’ because he predicted this possibility.
The former double champ then dove further into the scenario where Topuria and Charles Oliveira fight for the title and laughed at how lucky the Brazilian was.
“‘Do Bronx’ actually lost his title shot to Arman. Charles gets beaten by Arman, (then) beats Michael Chandler. Arman is supposed to fight for the belt (gets injured)… In steps Moicano. Oliveira then gets pushed to the back, it feels like, because here come Ilia and Arman,” he continued.
“Now, it’s going to be him if Islam Makhachev goes up. And if Makhachev isn’t able to go up,” DC noted, adding that it is still entirely dependent on what Belal does at UFC 315.
Should he win, Islam stays at lightweight and has to fight Topuria- something he wasn’t so keen on, just weeks ago.
Cormier believes Islam’s decision has been impacted by UFC Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell’s recent visit to Dagestan. Asserting that Campbell would only make the trip for an important cause, like fixing the card for International Fight Week.
Interestingly, DC also claims Campbell’s trip to the Caucasus Mountains was the reason former lightweight champion Alex Pereira’s Twitter account got hacked.
Pereira is a liar, claims Cormier
The former UFC double champ is of the opinion that during his trip to Dagestan, Campbell also spoke to light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev, just in case Islam remained adamant about not wanting to fight Topuria.
He believes that Ankalaev said yes to fighting during the International Fight Week, something Pereira wasn’t too keen on.
“I love Alex Pereira but I don’t think he was hacked. I believe that Alex Pereira probably got the news that someone else is going to fight for the belt, reacted and then this thing with Makhachev worked out to where the light heavyweight title fight doesn’t need to happen, so now it’s okay,” DC rumored.
However, Cormier doesn’t blame Pereira. Claiming that Pereira might be angry at him for saying all this, DC notes that the Brazilian deserves to be next in line for a title shot at 205 lbs, and his outrage at being sidelined was justified. More importantly, the situation was stopped from escalating after Islam seemingly agreed to fight Topuria should Belal retain at UFC 315.
