UFC commentators Paul Felder and Michael Bisping have called out Ilia Topuria for his apparent refusal to fight Arman Tsarukyan.
Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) has been near the front of the line in the 155-pound title picture for some time. The Armenian fighter was granted a title shot against then-champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 311 in January but was forced to withdraw at the last minute due to a back injury.
Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) — who recently claimed the vacant UFC lightweight title by knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 — said during a podcast appearance with the Nelk Boys that he would rather vacate the title than give Tsarukyan another chance to fight for the belt.
“They are going to give him a fight before the title shot because there is no way – I’m the world champion. I’m never going to give him a chance to fight for the title,” Topuria said. “I will be like, ‘listen, if that’s the case, take my belt.’ I don’t do it.”
That news hasn’t gone over well with UFC color commentators Paul Felder and Michael Bisping. During the latest episode of their Believe You Me podcast, the pair expressed their disappointment with Topuria.
“I mean, the guy's the number one contender,” Felder said, “and to say that you would rather relinquish the belt than fight him is…come on, man. We're getting a little carried away. And we've talked about this before, where these guys in this generation of fighters, when they get to this top position now, are so willing to jump around weight classes and try to deny fighting (other) guys. It's not how it f***ing works, man! If the guy's number one and the UFC says, ‘this is the guy, you're the champ. You're holding that belt.’ That's who you fight. If you're the best and (you believe that) he's not on your level and all this kind of stuff, then prove it. Just go out there and prove it. I hate, I hate that.”
“Why say that you would relinquish the belt?” Bisping responded. “I'm the biggest fan of Ilia, right? I love how he carries himself. Every interaction I've had, he's so respectful. He's obviously a monster inside the Octagon. He's technically brilliant. He's a class act. He's awesome. He's awesome. But why is he saying that? I think he's just saying it to get under his skin.”
