Ilia Topuria says Islam Makhachev will be in for a rude awakening if their grudge match ever comes to fruition.
Topuria (17–0 MMA, 9–0 UFC) had been pursuing a superfight against then–lightweight champion Makhachev (28–1 MMA, 17–1 UFC) while he was still the champion at 145 pounds. He ultimately vacated the featherweight title to move up and challenge Makhachev for the lightweight belt, only for Makhachev to follow suit by vacating his title and moving up to 170 pounds.
Topuria went on to knock out Charles Oliveira to capture the vacant lightweight championship, while Makhachev dominated Jack Della Maddalena over five rounds to claim the welterweight title soon afterward.
With both men now sitting atop their new divisions, “El Matador” reignited his pursuit of his Dagestani rival, promising Makhachev a tougher test than any he has faced in his UFC career to date.
“I don't want to keep making predictions about anyone because everyone talks a lot with the keyboard, everyone wants to shine, everyone has a lot of courage,” Topuria said in Spanish during an interview with El Doberdan MMA. “A lot of courage, but when the time of truth arrives, it’s not like that. And everyone knows that (Topuria vs. Makhachev) is a fight that everyone wants to see. And he, for some reason, has not accepted it until now. And then he talks too much.
“It's very easy to talk from thousands of kilometres away, and to judge me and criticize me, but then when you have me in that Octagon... You will start to realize that I am not Jack Della Maddalena, that I am not Dan Hooker, that I am not all those fighters you have faced before. I am something very different. And when I place my right hand on you, you will see that you are going to have a very, very long sleep.”
Topuria has knocked out a string of top tier opponents during his championship reigns across two weight classes, such as Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Oliveira. While he has become best known for that knockout power, the Spanish-Georgian insists his grappling is also world class, and that he would love to submit Makhachev in front of his coach Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“I consider that my strong point is my ground game,” Topuria said. “I believe that on the ground I can move in any way, that I can take you to a finish from any position. But it is true that lately I have accepted that it is not what the public wants to see as much, although with Islam it may be something the public wants to see, right? To dominate him standing up, to give him three or four punches in the spot where I have to hit him, and then to submit him in front of Khabib and if he wants to pass, I’ll gladly step on his head too."
