Ilia Topuria recently hinted at a potential fight with Islam Makhachev next year. Topuria has instructed Makhachev’s teammates to stay out of the matter and urged the reigning lightweight champion to settle their differences inside the octagon.
IliaTopuria has already expressed his desire to move up to lightweight and have a crack at Islam Makhachev in an online Q&A earlier this month. The reigning featherweight champion even claimed that he would injure the Dagestani fighter if the two engaged in a potential street fight.
That didn’t sit well with Makhachev, who took a dig at Topuria in an interview with MatchTV, saying the Spaniard should focus on defending his title at least once before calling him out.
“If Topuria continues in the same spirit, he may play himself out. Something may happen. So far I have not seen anyone cross any personal boundaries, so far nothing like that has happened. He needs to focus on his weight class and defending his belt at least once.”
In response, IliaTopuria took to X and challenged IslamMakhachev for a fight next year, writing:
”I don’t need to cross lines but it seems like the kids that hang out with you will try to cross a line they can’t come back from. Let’s leave the kids out of it and settle it like adults inside the octagon 2025”
Ilia Topuria is set to make his first title defense against former champion Max Holloway at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 after capturing the title with a devastating knockout over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev is currently recovering from a hand injury and is expected to return to the octagon in January next year, according to his teammate and longtime friend Khabib Nurmagomedov. He is most likely to face No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan.