“Will anyone actually defend their own title?” – Ilia Topuria eyeing to fight Islam Makhachev for ‘champ champ’ status has fans furious

New UFC featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria has declared that he plans to take down Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title.

“Will anyone actually defend their own title?” – Ilia Topuria eyeing to fight Islam Makhachev for ‘champ champ’ status has fans furious

Ilia Topuria talks about Islam Makhachev (Image via Imago)

Ilia Topuria has already made plans for a second title. After recently becoming the featherweight champion, Topuria has now set his eyes on the lightweight title. Here is what happened:

Ilia Topuria recently interviewed with Eurosport (Espanol). There he revealed his plans after recently claiming the UFC featherweight title. Topuria said: 

I want to fight again before the end of the year, and then the next target would be Islam Makhachev. That fight would be the one that would bring me closest to number one in the pound-for-pound ranking. I see myself as a double champion.
Ilia Topuria via Eurosport
YouTube video

Ilia Topuria has planned to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt after his first featherweight title defense. The Spanish UFC star potentially aims for a ‘double champ’ status. Moving up in weight carries risks, as fighters can face opponents much bigger than themselves. Topuria’s recent opponent and former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski also moved up the weight class. He fought Islam Makhachev twice and lost in both fights.

FS Video

Ilia Topuria became the UFC featherweight champion at UFC 298. The Georgian fighter defeated Alexander Volkanovski via knockout in the second round. Topuria ended Volkanovski’s four-year reign as the featherweight champion. Meanwhile, Islam Makhachev has been the UFC lightweight champion since October 2022. Makhachev defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 to become the 12th undisputed UFC lightweight champion.

Fans react to Ilia Topuria wanting to fight Islam Makhachev

The news of Ilia Topuria planning to fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title caught the attention of fans on social media. People went to the comment section to share their thoughts and reactions to this. Here are some of the reactions from X:

Ilia Topuria knocked out dominant champion Alexander Violkanovski 
Ilia Topuria knocked out dominant champion Alexander Violkanovski (via X)
https://twitter.com/Prime_BJPenn/status/1760732765379776523?s=20
https://twitter.com/m60307_a/status/1760725826419740718

Ilia Topuria’s ambitious plans amused people. He has already challenged some of the top contenders of the sport like Conor McGregor, Seans O’Malley, and Max Holloway. While some fans cheered Topuria others criticised him for hoping to become a double champion with only one title defense. It will be interesting to see if Ilia Topuria can pull it off and defeat Islam Makhachev to become the next UFC lightweight champion.

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