Media Topuria Pulls Back Says He ONLY wants 3 Fighters For NEXT Fight - Wants to Defend Title Once Then Go For LW Belt

[stronghulk]

Very obvious that he will try extremely hard to get "money fights". His dream more then to be a great champion is to be a star.

 

[Conor Strickland]

Does anyone think he beats Islam tho?

 

[usernamee]

He has too be way to small to challenge Islam right? Sure Volk is small as well but he is built like a stub.

 

[nostradumbass]

He has too be way to small to challenge Islam right? Sure Volk is small as well but he is built like a stub.

LW to FW is only 10 lbs. It's not a matter of "too small", you just keep up your normal diet during camp while the other person runs at a deficit for the last month of camp, and you end up about the same size for the fight without having to get fat for it. The problem here is the skill discrepancy and that Topuria has neither the dominance nor the PPV drawing ability for Islam to care about that fight. Volk was ahead of Islam on the p4p rankings, so he wanted to beat the guy ahead of him. There is no sales pitch for the fight other than charity from Islam.

 

[FilipEmoFights]

Bro thinks he’s dagestani or from Ireland or something

 

[jeff7b9]

Fuck this shit.

Islam needs to face actual LW contenders and new guy needs to shut the fuck up and face who they tell him to face.

 

[usernamee]

LW to FW is only 10 lbs. It's not a matter of "too small", you just keep up your normal diet during camp while the other person runs at a deficit for the last month of camp, and you end up about the same size for the fight without having to get fat for it. The problem here is the skill discrepancy and that Topuria has neither the dominance nor the PPV drawing ability for Islam to care about that fight. Volk was ahead of Islam on the p4p rankings, so he wanted to beat the guy ahead of him. There is no sales pitch for the fight other than charity from Islam.

It's about the frame. Islam's frame is massive compared to Topuria. Ilia has fought at 135lbs for Christ's sakes.

 

[DudeBroMMA]

All skills no brain.

I've been on the Topuria bandwagon since his debut but holy hell this guy is just dumb. Luckily we pay to watch him fight and not speak.

 

[AmericanMMA]

Hand sanitizer boy?

 

[humdizzle]

Islam "the manlet killer" Makhachev

seriously these 145ers need to stay in their lane. volk earned his jump up by staying active and saying yes to max for a 3rd fight.
o'malley hasn't even defended once yet

holloway makes the most sense if volk wants time to recover

 

[Blastbeat]

Islam would smash him. defend the belt in your own goddamned weight class! Volk went up and fought Islam cause he had like 5 title defenses at the time.

also <45><45><45><45> this dude really thinks he's gonna get a Conor Mcgregor fight at FEATHERWEIGHT? absolutely ridiculous.

 

[JoeRowe]

 

[DarthChen731]

Why would Banana be in possession of a Topuria/Holloway fight?

 

[RiseAboveHat]

And Sherdoggers were telling me he was gonna fight in Featherweight for years and clean out the division!

He's been talking like this for the last year. But I guess I was the only one paying attention.

 

[Substance Abuse]

Rack up defenses. Build your legacy. Ilia seems to be in a big hurry to get a money fight or get his ass kicked by Islam.

 

[The Siege]

He has too be way to small to challenge Islam right? Sure Volk is small as well but he is built like a stub.

This is an intriguing matchup as-is from a skillset point of view. It will be even more intriguing if they defend 2 or 3 more times.

We know that Ilia has probably the best boxing in the UFC, definitely one of the most powerful in the lower weight classes. We also know that he has a great ground game and grappling. His footwork is good and he is very aggressive when he sees an opening.

For Makhachev, I believe he is maybe the most skilled fighter today. He has an elite all around grappling skillset with a crafty clinch in which he uses trips and throws, a robust top game that is cautious but opportunistic, and a good guard game from what little we have seen in his career. The hallmarks of his striking are his distance management and his counterstriking. His reactions are top-notch and he is good at judging distance.

I would say Makhachev's biggest weakness is when he goes on the offensive on the feet. It is sometimes sloppy and he leaves himself in bad positions. Against Ilia, this would be lethal and he would likely get dropped.

Ilia will also not provide the openings that Volk did due to the lower volume of strikes he will throw at Islam. This means that Islam might have to go on the offensive.

Honestly, I would like to see more from both guys before trying to predict a fight between them.

For now, if they had to fight on the next PPV, I would pick Makhachev because he is bigger and longer and will likely frustrate Ilia early with a heavy grappling gameplan (2-3 rounds) which might force Ilia to throw more volume in the Championship rounds which will open him up to Makhachevs counterstriking as well. However, the big shot will always be there for Topuria, so I wouldn't be surprised if he lands the big one and KO/TKOs Islam.

 

[drbolony]

Would love to see Max turn Spain into a Hawaiian island.

 

[Deceasedxo]

Fuck sake. The UFC really need to put their foot down and stop this double champ bullshit. It's ruining the sport.

 

[PlayTheGame]

If he vacates his FW belt and beats the winner of, let's say, Poirier-BSD first, then why not. He doesn't deserve the LW title shot while holding onto his FW belt though.

 

[chinarice]

I 100% support Ilia moving to LW and relinquishing his belt in pursuit of the LW title and getting lined up with a top LW fighter to earn that shot.