Islam Makhachev shifting his attention to the welterweight division is not a very popular decision among fans. To be fair to the champ, he has been eyeing the move for a long time, and now, with his good friend Belal Muhammad off the welterweight throne, he has a free shot at it.
What Makhachev probably didn’t take into account was Ilia Topuria sacrificing his featherweight title and moving up in weight to challenge him. It also didn’t help that Makhachev, his coach Javier Mendez, mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov, and manager Ali Abdelaziz simply refused the Ilia fight, claiming that the Spaniard was undeserving.
Perhaps, there is some truth to it. Stylistically, Topuria would have been the toughest fight Islam would have engaged in at 155 lbs. Topuria even boasted about using Islam’s favorite D’Arce choke to submit him, making people further side with the Spaniard.
However, according to UFC veteran Matt Brown, those words wouldn’t have meant much to the former lightweight champion, not with the record he’s amassed during his time with the Dana White-led promotion.
“Those two words just don’t go together, Islam and ducking, it doesn’t add up in any sense of the world,” Brown argued.
Matt Brown fires back at claims that Islam Makhachev is ducking Ilia Topuria:
“Those two words just don’t go together — Islam and ducking … It’s a very odd thing to say he’s ducking a smaller boxer to fight a bigger boxer.” pic.twitter.com/UHjKrY7YUl
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) May 20, 2025
The UFC vet then wondered why fans would come to such a conclusion.
“It’s a very odd thing to say that he’s ducking a smaller boxer to fight a bigger boxer,” Brown pointed out, citing welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena’s striking prowess, especially in light of his win against Belal at UFC 315.
However, another UFC veteran and an ESPN analyst no less, claims Makhachev tucked tail at the sight of ‘El Matador’.
Chael Sonnen criticizes Islam
‘The American Gangster’ is backing the fans and their ‘ducking’ claims against the lightweight champion. Makhachev has defended his title 4 times, once on short notice, and broke all records in the division, so it would make sense why he wants to look for new challenges.
But Sonnen believes that the ‘new challenge’ was coming to him in Ilia Topuria.
On an episode of the Good Guy/ Bad Guy podcast, the former UFC middleweight expressed curiosity at Makhachev’s actions.
“You have an undefeated, number one ranked, world champion who’s chasing you down. He’s willing to walk away from his belt to chase you down,” he noted.
Chael Sonnen isn’t holding back
“The American Gangster” questions Islam Makhachev chasing welterweight gold instead of defending against Ilia Topuria at 155. pic.twitter.com/C3ybf2o44x
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) May 20, 2025
“You’re so interested in getting away from this guy, you not only leave your belt, you leave your division,” Sonnen further argued.
Perhaps, there’s a sound reason for Sonnen’s argument as well. After all, in his last two fights, Topuria shut the lights off on both Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski.
At this point, Makhachev is yet to respond to any of these claims and allegations, and has already begun camp for the welterweight title fight against Della Maddalena.
Interestingly, his manager, Abdelaziz, has claimed that regardless of JDM’s preparedness to defend the title by the end of the year, Islam will be competing for gold at 170 lbs.
