{"id":40908,"date":"2025-04-17T16:44:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T15:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=40908"},"modified":"2025-04-17T16:44:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T15:44:48","slug":"ilia-topuria-plans-to-wait-as-he-rejects-1-contender-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/ilia-topuria-plans-to-wait-as-he-rejects-1-contender-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilia Topuria Plans To Wait As He Rejects #1 Contender Fight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/mma\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>UFC<\/a> featherweight division has seen many champions come and go. Jose Aldo ruled for years with his devastating leg kicks. Conor McGregor made his mark with that 13-second knockout. Max Holloway dazzled fans with his volume striking and iron chin. And, Alexander Volkanovski cemented his legacy with technical brilliance. Recently, a new king wore the crown. <\/p><p>Ilia Topuria burst onto the scene like a tornado. His knockout power changed the landscape of the division. The undefeated fighter from Spain by way of Georgia has quickly become one of the UFC&rsquo;s most intriguing stars.<\/p><p>After claiming the featherweight title with a knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria defended his belt against Max Holloway. His impressive victories have given him the confidence to make bold moves. Now, he&rsquo;s aiming even higher. Topuria recently vacated his 145-pound championship to pursue bigger challenges. His target is none other than the lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.<\/p><p><strong>Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/dustin-poirier-teases-announcement-of-his-retirement-fight-and-it-is-sooner-than-what-fans-might-expect\/\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>Dustin Poirier Teases Announcement Of His Retirement Fight And It Is Sooner Than What Fans Might Expect!<\/a><\/strong><\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ilia Topuria Stands Firm Against Taking Another Fight<\/h2><p>Ilia Topuria isn&rsquo;t interested in proving himself at lightweight before challenging for the belt. Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, the former featherweight champion made his position crystal clear.<\/p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong><em>&ldquo;I would like to fight with Islam, that is for sure, I would like to fight him. I wouldn&rsquo;t fight for a No. 1 contender fight. If&nbsp; Islam decides he doesn&rsquo;t want to fight me. I&rsquo;ll sit until you&rsquo;re gonna have to fight me.&rdquo;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ilia Topuria says he would NOT fight a #1 contender fight, and only wants the title shot:<br><br>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t care if Islam decides he doesn&rsquo;t want to fight me. I&rsquo;ll sit until you&rsquo;re gonna have to fight me&hellip;<br><br>I&rsquo;m here. You can&rsquo;t keep avoiding me.&rdquo;<br><br>&#127909; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joerogan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@joerogan<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KJoUpqEjaR\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/KJoUpqEjaR<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChampRDS\/status\/1912566076426043424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>April 16, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>The Georgian-Spanish fighter believes he received a promise from the UFC. He claimed that vacating his featherweight title came with an understanding. His next fight would be for the lightweight championship. No warm-up fights. No contender matchups. Just straight to the big dance.<\/p><p>Team Makhachev, however, seems less enthusiastic about the matchup. The lightweight champion and his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov suggested Topuria needs to earn his shot first. And this kind of back-and-forth happens all the time in the UFC. Sometimes it&rsquo;s strategy. Sometimes it&rsquo;s genuine reluctance. Either way, it makes for great drama!<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Potential Blockbuster Matchup<\/h2><p>A fight between Topuria and Makhachev would certainly sell tickets. Their contrasting styles make for an intriguing matchup. Makhachev brings world-class grappling with improved striking. Topuria offers devastating knockout power with underrated ground skills. Ilia Topuria isn&rsquo;t shy about his chances either. He recently wrote back to Khabib about fighting Makhachev.<\/p><blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong><em>&ldquo;Khabib knows I&rsquo;m the one to take the belt from Islam. Only reason he doesn&rsquo;t want Islam to fight me.&rdquo;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Khabib knows I&rsquo;m the one to take  the belt from Islam. Only reason he doesn&rsquo;t want Islam to fight me<\/p>&mdash; Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Topuriailia\/status\/1912325008304599131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>April 16, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>The stakes couldn&rsquo;t be higher for both men. For Makhachev, it&rsquo;s about continuing the legacy Khabib Nurmagomedov started. For Ilia Topuria, it is a chance to become one of the few fighters to hold titles in multiple weight classes. The two-division champion club remains exclusive in UFC history. Will Topuria&rsquo;s patience pay off? Or will the UFC force him to take another fight first? The ball seems to be in the promotion&rsquo;s court now!<\/p><p><strong>(Image Credit: Gary A. Vasquez &ndash; Imagn Images)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria clarifies that he would not fight anyone else other than the champion at lightweight!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":40911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1783],"tags":[1963,1821],"class_list":["post-40908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mma","tag-ilia-topuria","tag-islam-makhachev"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ilia Topuria Plans To Wait As He Rejects #1 Contender Fight - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria clarifies that he would not fight anyone else other than the champion at lightweight.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/ilia-topuria-plans-to-wait-as-he-rejects-1-contender-fight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ilia Topuria Plans To Wait As He Rejects #1 Contender Fight - 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