Islam Makhachev recently shared his thoughts on a potential Ilia Topuria fight at the UFC White House event.
Makhachev and Topuria are undoubtedly two of the biggest names in combat sports today. Makhachev moved up to welterweight and captured the 170-pound title after successfully defending the lightweight championship for the last time against Renato Moicano at UFC 311 last January.
Meanwhile, Topuria vacated the featherweight title to move up to lightweight and captured the vacant 155-pound championship with a stunning first-round KO win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last June. Given their incredible resumes and fighting styles, many believe that a super fight between the two would break records if the UFC could book them for a showdown.
In a recent interview with Telegraf, Makhachev reiterated his desire to fight Topuria and put on a show for the fans and claimed that he was open to doing it on the UFC White House card. He said:
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“I like this idea. If the UFC wants [this fight], I know a lot of MMA fans want this fight, I’m ready… We have the Ramadan month, so I’m not going to train for one month. After that, I will slowly begin my training camp, and I will be ready. White House [or] other dates, I will be ready.”
When Jack Della Maddalena previewed a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria fight
Last month, Jack Della Maddalena shared his thoughts on a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria fight. The former welterweight champion opined that while Makhachev’s size advantage would be too much for Topuria, he admitted that the Georgian-Spanish fighter’s striking could give him an edge
During a live stream with N3on (via @RedCorner_MMA on X), Maddalena said:
“I think Islam [will win]. Ilia is good, but I just reckon the size would be a lot… Yeah, he looked big. But then again, Ilia is a heavy puncher; if he can keep it on the feet and land punches, it’d be a good fight. It needs to happen.”
Edited by Nishant Zende.
