Ilia Topuria is making it explicitly clear that Islam Makhachev won`t be receiving any special favors should he ever decide to drop back down to the UFC`s lightweight division. With his opportunity to claim the currently vacant 155-pound title against Charles Oliveira booked for UFC 317 in June, Topuria is eager to add another championship to his collection, despite not getting the matchup he initially wanted against Makhachev.
Makhachev, instead, is moving up to welterweight later this year to face the new champion, Jack Della Maddalena. However, he has hinted at the possibility of one day returning to his former weight class to reclaim the lightweight title. Mirroring the stance Makhachev seemed to take when Topuria moved up from featherweight, “El Matador” is now turning the tables, telling the sport`s current pound-for-pound top fighter that he will have to earn his position back for a title opportunity if he ever returns to lightweight.
During a press conference promoting his upcoming fight, Topuria stated, “You know from the beginning, he wanted to give the impression that he had some sort of decision [to make]… 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? 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.”
Indeed, while Makhachev initially expressed no intention of vacating his lightweight title even if he moved up to welterweight, circumstances ultimately unfolded differently. Just as Topuria relinquished his featherweight title upon moving divisions, Makhachev also had to vacate his lightweight belt to pursue a second championship in the welterweight division.
Neither fighter will have the chance to become an immediate “champ-champ” by holding two belts simultaneously. However, Topuria has firmly stated his future lies exclusively in the lightweight division, citing the difficulties he faced making the 145-pound featherweight limit.
While Makhachev might have different plans regarding a potential lightweight comeback, Topuria appears more than ready to flip the script, insisting the former champion must work his way back into title contention rather than expecting an immediate shot.
Although the verbal back-and-forth between Topuria and Makhachev has increased recently, they are not scheduled to fight next, and whether this potential showdown ever materializes in the future remains uncertain.
