Islam Makhachev dismisses lightweight return, tells Ilia Topuria to move up instead: “If he loses, he goes back down”
Islam Makhachev has dismissed the idea of moving down to lightweight to fight Ilia Topuria. The Russian fighter vacated the 155-pound championship in 2025 after defending it a total of four times.
Makhachev moved up in pursuit of two-division glory and dethroned Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 to become a two-division champion.
However, fans have been longing for a showdown between the P4P king and ‘El Matador.’ Earlier, Makhachev had said that he might consider a move down to 155 pounds to fight Topuria if the UFC comes up with an offer that is hard to refuse. However, his recent statements suggest that he has no intention of cutting all that weight again.
Islam Makhachev wants Ilia Topuria to move up, believes ‘El Matador’ hasn’t “proven anything in lightweight yet”
Islam Makhachev has suggested Ilia Topuria a move up to 170 pounds for a superfight with the Dagestani wrestling maestro. The 34-year-old believes he has accomplished everything at lightweight and now has work to do at 170 pounds, where he is the champion.
Topuria, who is currently on a hiatus due to personal reasons, has not defended his lightweight belt even once after capturing it at UFC 317 by knocking out Charles Oliveira.
Hence, the two-division UFC champion believes even if Topuria loses at welterweight to him in a potential superfight, the Georgian-Spaniard can always go down and defend his belt there. Makahchev also highlighted that Arman Tsarukyan, the division’s top contender, has been calling out Topuria almost every day.
In a recent interview with MatchTV, Islam Makhachev said:
“For what? I had the belt at lightweight; no one beat me there. For a belt? That’s not interesting to me. If [Ilia] wants to move up, then welcome. He can [move up] because he has nothing to lose by moving up. If he loses, he goes back down to lightweight, and that’s it. He’ll defend his belt there.”
He added:
“I’ve already been the lightweight champion, and I’m definitely not going back down. He hasn’t proven anything in lightweight yet. He’s got a lot of work to do there. Arman Tsarukyan is calling him out every day, asking to fight.
Check out Islam Makhachev’s comments about Ilia Topuria below:
