Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ilia Topuria Wants Title Shot Next Against P4P King Islam Makhachev, As Per Sources!

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ilia Topuria has now vacated the featherweight title and has moved up to the lightweight division. Him and his team have made it clear that they only want to fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title and nobody else. So this begs the question; does Ilia Topuria deserve the title fight straight away without fighting any of the top contenders? Here’s what we think.

Dustin Poirier feels Ilia Topuria has done enough to earn a title fight against Islam Makhachev:

"Vacating the belt and moving up, finishing Max Holloway the way that he did, I would give him a crack at the lightweight title right off the bat.”

(🎥 @JoseYoungs) pic.twitter.com/PpJt1vUYwE
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) February 24, 2025

Does Ilia Topuria deserve a title shot immediately?

Topuria is currently undefeated and has an overall record of 16-0-0. While we understand that Topuria only defended his featherweight title once, it is not always about the quantity of fighters you’ve won over, it’s also about the quality. See, Topuria has defeated two of the greatest fighters in the featherweight division.

He knocked Alexander Volkanovski out cold in UFC 298 and he also beat Max Holloway at UFC 308, who is a future hall of famer. Looking at who he beat, how he beat them, and his perfect record, we think Topuria deserves a title shot straight away.

Also Read: Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis Slams Brendan Allen After Second Straight Loss

Paddy Pimblett says Ilia Topuria moving up to lightweight will be “the downfall of his career” 😳

“He’s a midget lad. He’s not a lightweight… He should’ve stuck at featherweight. It’s gonna be the downfall of his career.”

🎥 Round Eight Boxingpic.twitter.com/DbuhKrqUxW
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 25, 2025

On the other side, Islam Makhachev’s team does not think that Topuria deserves a title shot straight away. Makhachev’s manager, Rizvan Magomedov, thinks that Topuria needs to fight some of the top contenders in the lightweight division. The number one contender, currently, is Arman Tsarukyan. However, Topuria and his team have no interest in fighting anyone else other than Makhachev. Let us break it down further.

Topuria has his eye on the ultimate prize and nothing else

According to redcorner.mma, Topuria has refused to fight top contender Arman Tsarukyan, as stated by his team to Russian media agency TASS. Tsarukyan has been patiently waiting for a title shot since 2019 and he is finally in a position to challenge Islam for the belt.

However, Topuria’s arrival in the lightweight category, has created chaos in the lightweight division and even UFC president, Dana White, is not sure whom should Islam fight next. It can’t be Tsarukyan, who was the top contender until he withdrew from injury. The UFC supremo Dana White explicitly told the media that Arman will have to ‘rebuild’ his case for a title shot!

Topuria and his team wants a title shot straight away and nothing else apart from that. A source told the agency that “Ilia wants a championship fight. He will not fight for the status of a contender with Tsarukyan or anyone else.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RED CORNER MMA (@redcorner.mma)

Also Read: Belal Muhammad Shares Insight On Potential Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall Showdown!

Arman Tsarukyan

Ilia Topuria

Islam Makhachev

UFC

Eric Divakaran

nba

nfl

mma

I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.