Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev Face Hurdle as ‘Certified’ Double-Champ Puts Asterisk Over Ambitions

Two-weight division dreams are on the minds of Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev; but is it the same as double-champ with two straps on shoulders?

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev Face Hurdle as ‘Certified’ Double-Champ Puts Asterisk Over Ambitions

Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev have detterent towards two-weight division dreams (Source: X)

Before Islam Makhachev vacated his longtime UFC 155-pound strap, he dismissed facing ‘another featherweight’ Ilia Topuria. Topuria himself relinquished his 145-pound stakes for a second coming at lightweight to make this big PPV title super-fight. The Dagestani, though, had plans up north at 170. Now, the duo is treading on similar lanes, gunning for double-division gold.

Islam Makhachev has dreamt of becoming a double-champ for a very long time. Despite a buff natural hydration, he couldn’t go for it with friend Belal Muhammad holding the 170-pound title. That is, until the gnarly UFC 315 PPV title headliner showdown last Saturday, at Bell Center in Montreal. UFC brass has announced a Makhachev vs. Jack Della Maddalena PPV title scrap, somewhere later this year.

Meanwhile, Ilia Topuria challenges the 155-pound top challenge Charles Oliveira for Makhachev’s vacant belt during the UFC 317 PPV card, at IFW festivities kicking off on 26 June in Las Vegas. However, there’s a deterrent to becoming a two-weight division (or multi division) champ and a “double” champ, per Henry Cejudo, via his podcast: 

What I'm saying is there's just a difference between being a multi champ and then also being a double champ — of having this belt on this shoulder and having this belt on this shoulder — like Conor McGregor, like Amanda Nunes, like D.C... and obviously the triple C. So I mean, I guess to...To you fans is, is if Ilia wins, does that mean he's a double champ? Or if Islam wins and he fights JDM, does that mean he's double champ?

The ‘double-champ’ conundrum has been on for a while, with CEO and headman Dana White hinting they are not fans of the logistics. The past few cases saw quite a logjam; White-propelled #1 Pound-for-pound ‘best’ Jon Jones took three years for a move from 205 to 265 pounds.

Then, he took up two years, stalling a PPV title unification. Alex Pereira, a brand champ of the near-past, could not hold both belts simultaneously, dropping one to a UFC 287 PPV-shaped TKO.

While not written on white paper, UFC litigation has been less fond of going up divisions where work is left. Hence comes vacating gold to realize a second-belt dream. Now, with the PPV lightweight title fight in the UFC 317 headliner on June 28, and a Makhachev vs. JDM fight, they can graze closer to a second belt. But not hold them simultaneously. Much like Cejudo, even Daniel Cormier once stated that Topuria should have kept his momentum at 145 pounds instead of vacating.

Will Ilia Topuria ever chase Islam Makhachev again?

Spaniard Ilia Topuria was a hard case of make-it-happen toward gold with a one-of-one title campaign in 2024. He doused it and worked his way towards it, blowing off two top names. His manager, Malki Kawa, and Club Climente (Spain) doused his grappling was untested, but much like his superior boxing. That drove home the scope of an Islam Makhachev vs. Topuria PPV title fight at lightweight.

Ilia Topuria not willing to chase Islam Makhachev for UFC PPV title fight again
Ilia Topuria not willing to chase Islam Makhachev for UFC PPV title fight again (Source: X)

Topuria shot for gold from the get-go, challenging the Dagestani, even hooking him up with baits. But it never came to be. Topuria moved on (only slightly), teasing an IFW festivities week PPV fight card with the UFC X/Hall of Fame ceremony at Sin City.

Ali Abdelaziz of Team Makhachev told MMA Junkie that a Makhachev vs. Topuria pay-per-view (PPV) fight was next if Muhammad retained his gold at UFC 315. However, Topuria doesn’t believe him. To that end, Islam Makhachev’s move means they have lost friction. Without a 170-pound salt to go with, will Topuria chase this fight again? The former featherweight champ said in a recent presser:

Ali should thank me for not beating his star, and that today, he still has value and some credibility is thanks to me, ...This was the fight everyone wanted to see, I was ready for it, I put everything I could on the table, and they ran away, and from the beginning...But why chase him? If someone runs away, you don't have to bully them. If he runs away, we have to let him get away. I don't want to fight people who don't want to fight me either.

Makhachev put on a historic 15-fight streak, coupled with 5 title defenses. Topuria, too, has gone through a murderer’s row of featherweight names and demolished the divisional king to win gold. So, for now, they both would seemingly continue in their chosen paths.

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