- UFC. Makhachev hits out at McGregor: "The most he can do is hit an old man..."
- UFC. Ilia Topuria to MARCA: "Makhachev is scared. If I was as short as he says..."
A very hectic February is expected in of announcements in the UFC. There are many champions waiting to know their future, and many great fighters asking to move up in weight and category. Two examples are Ilia Topuria (16-0) and Islam Makhachev (27-1), featherweight and lightweight champions, respectively... but also Belal Muhammad (24-3), welterweight champion since he won it last summer in Manchester.
His plans could directly or indirectly affect a hypothetical fight between Ilia and Islam. The Chicago fighter, of Palestinian descent, has yet to defend his throne due to injury (he was due to fight Rakhmonov in late 2024), and hopes to return before the summer. However, he refuses to fight Makhachev for the welterweight title
"I would never fight Islam because it's different for me and for him," Muhammad said in an interview with 'Barstool Sports Chicago'. "We've trained together, and when you're sweating with someone, and you're bleeding with someone, and you train with someone like that... it's just a different relationship. It wouldn't be about the money for me or for him, I guess," he said. Both, in addition to having shared camp under Khabib's command, have the same manager: Ali Abdelaziz.
For Makhachev "it's sport"
Belal eludes him (although Makahchev said a fight between the two should be considered; "it's sport," he said) and aims to move up to middleweight: "I would never want to do that, and they have helped me a lot. So in my case, I'd rather move up to 185 pounds and let him stay at 170 if that's the case."
In my case, I'd rather go up to 185 pounds and let him stay at 170 if that's the case
And this, of course, could be a problem for the hypothetical Topuria vs Makhachev. Why? Because if anything could 'slow down' Islam's rise (for now) it was a Muhammad vs Rakhmonov. Now, however, there are rumors of an injury to the Kazakh... and either Belal fights another title contender, or he faces Makhachev. And if he 'escapes' to middleweight... it leaves the way clear for the Dagestani to seek the vacant welterweight title.
Right now, however, it seems quite unlikely that Dana White will allow him to move up: he has not defended his belt even once and the middleweight division is full of contenders for Du Plessis' throne: Chimaev, Imavov... they do not need 'fresh meat' in the high places.
I want to fight at 155. I don't really need Islam's name
In reality, Topuria doesn't really care whether Makhachev is there or not. He already told MARCA's microphone last Saturday: "I want to fight at 155. I don't really need Islam's name. It's not like he's anything extraordinary... if he stayed to fight me obviously it's an exciting fight for the whole crowd and if not, we'll build our future...". Straightforward.