Cory Sandhagen believes Ilia Topuria may very well have had the upper hand if he had stepped into the Octagon to face Islam Makhachev.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) recently vacated his UFC featherweight title to move up to 155 pounds, aiming to challenge longtime lightweight champion Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC). However, those plans were derailed when Makhachev followed in Topuria’s footsteps by relinquishing his title to pursue gold in the welterweight division.
Topuria is now scheduled to face Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317 next month, while Makhachev is expected to receive an immediate shot at newly crowned welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena—making a showdown between the two stars unlikely in the near future.
During his run at 145 pounds, Topuria’s power was often the deciding factor—most notably in 2024 when he knocked out both Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway to win and then defend the featherweight title.
UFC bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen believes that power could have played a crucial role in determining the outcome of a potential matchup between “El Matador” and Makhachev.
"I'm going to actually go against what most people say, and I honestly think Ilia would win that fight," Sandhagen said during a recent appearance on the Overdogs Podcast. "It's a hot take, but I do. I think his stature is going to be hard to take down for Islam, and I think if those two are standing, I just think that Ilia is a way, way (more) dangerous guy standing, and I just really can't see Islam hurting him because his guard is real good. I think Ilia will win that one."
While a welterweight title fight between Islam Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena hasn’t been officially announced, UFC President Dana White recently said it’s the most likely scenario. Cory Sandhagen, however, isn’t particularly excited about the matchup.
"I have watched a bunch of JDM's fights, and I know that he's real good, but I don't really want to see JDM fight Islam honestly," Sandhagen said. "I don't really like when someone wins a belt and then they fight a guy from the lower weight class. I kind of want to watch JDM fight at 170 for a bit before too much of that stuff starts happening. I really want to watch Ilia and Islam fight, and I really want to watch Tom Aspinall and Jon Jones fight."
