Islam Makhachev doesn’t see much to gain from fighting fellow UFC champion Ilia Topuria.
Featherweight champ Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and his head coach expressed interest in moving up a weight class to challenge lightweight champ Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) after Topuria knocked out Max Holloway at UFC 298. In a recent interview with Match TV (h/t Championship Rounds), Makhachev didn’t rule out the possibility of fighting Topuria some day but explained why it doesn’t interest him.
“We will definitely have some kind of conversation,” Makhachev said. “He constantly talks about me. He probably wants to tell me something. I don’t understand what he wants to tell me. Let’s step outside and talk. He wants to fight? We’ll fight if we need to.
“In terms of my fighting career, I’m not interested in fighting Topuria at all. He’s in a different weight class. I’ll beat him, and what will that do for me? I won’t win another belt. Everyone will once again say that I beat a featherweight. That’s it. But if people really want to see him lose, then we can do it.”
Makhachev’s first two title defenses at lightweight came against former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. He then tied the record for most title defenses in lightweight history by submitting Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in June.
He is expected to make his next title defense in a rematch against Arman Tsarukyan (22-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC) Jan. 18 at UFC 311 from Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., though nothing is confirmed.
