Ilia Topuria has slammed Islam Makhachev for refusing to face him in a superfight for the UFC lightweight title.
UFC President Dana White announced this week that Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) is set to vacate the 155-pound belt he has held since 2022 and move up to challenge newly crowned welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena.
Former featherweight champion Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) made a similar move earlier this year in hopes of taking on Makhachev for the lightweight strap but is now scheduled to face Charles Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) for the vacant belt at UFC 317 instead.
Makhachev has openly criticized Topuria’s decision to vacate his 145-pound title, and “El Matador” fired back at the Dagestani following this week’s announcement that he too would be relinquishing his belt.
"(Makhachev) is the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen," Topuria recently said in a translated press conference (h/t Marca, Championship Rounds). "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."
Makhachev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, said earlier this week that if Belal Muhammad had defeated Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 last weekend, Makhachev likely would have stayed at 155 pounds to face Topuria — a claim the Spanish Georgian star disputes.
"They're lying, they're liars," Topuria said. "That's a complete lie, that's not the truth. But I understand that it's his job to clean up the mess his clients leave behind."
"Ali should thank me for not beating his star, and that today, he still has value and some credibility is thanks to me," Topuria said. "This was the fight everyone wanted to see, I was ready for it, I put everything I could on the table, and they ran away, and from the beginning, they never, ever accepted the fight."
Makhachev Fires Back
Makhachev quickly responded to Topuria's accusations via a post on his X account, as he tweeted:
"Difference between me and you, that I cleaned top list in my division, moved to next, but you ran away from two contenders who had consecutive 5-9 wins in FW division. You are nobody in LW division, just a big mouth from spain with nice haircut. Go get one W, and we can talk boy".
Topuria clapped back quickly, tweeting: "The difference between you and me is that I am a man and you are a coward. I speak and fight. you talk and hide. Run away far, leaving no trace. Ты маленький пацан (You are a little boy),".
