Michael Chandler isn’t buying that Ilia Topuria walks around that heavy.
Topuria’s (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) manager claimed that Topuria used to cut almost 50 pounds to make the 145-pound featherweight limit, which is what prompted him to vacate his title for a move up to lightweight.
Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) thinks the claim by Topuria’s manager is an over embellishment.
“I think he’s lying about the weight a little bit,” Chandler said in an interview with Covers.com. “I don’t think he weighs 190 pounds. I’ve seen the man. I’ve stood next to the man. We’ve had conversations.
“With that being said, yeah, I think it would be cool for him to come in and fight somebody inside the top five to get the title shot. But then, again, the UFC does what they want to do, and they put on the biggest fights that make sense, and Topuria vs. Islam (Makhachev) makes a lot of sense.”
Topuria fought once at lightweight when he knocked out Jai Herbert to earn his first UFC bonus in March 2022. He then moved back down to featherweight, where he went on a run which included dethroning Alexander Volkanovski to become champion, then defending his belt against Max Holloway with another knockout at UFC 308.
UFC lightweight champion Makhachev and his team think Topuria should have to beat a top contender before fighting for the title. Chandler, who meets Paddy Pimblett in the UFC 314 co-main event April 12 in Miami, agrees – and warns Topuria that lightweight will be a different experience.
“Conventional wisdom would say yes, (he should not jump straight in with Makhachev),” Chandler said. “His (fourth) fight in the UFC was at lightweight. He got dropped by a head kick. Now, I’m not going to say that is going to happen, or us lightweights are so much bigger and badder than the little featherweights. That’s just hyperbole. But I will say, these are some big dudes. We hit a lot harder than the 145’ers. It’s going to be a very interesting jump up.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.
