Makhachev rejects Topuria again: "He needs to earn his chance"

The lightweight champion maintains that the Spanish-Georgian should have a contender's fight first.

(ABCMA NEWS BY JORGE SORIANO)

Topuria's eternal enemy returns: "I'll bet my house he won't beat Islam."

The Topuria-Makhachev soap opera continues to dominate the conversations of fans of the mixed martial arts (MMA). Ever since the Spanish-Georgian vacated his featherweight belt to move up to lightweight, everyone assumed he would face the champion of the division. However, from the beginning Makhachev was closed to such a possibility, arguing that he had already defeated the 145-pound champion (Volkanovski) in the past. He also asked Topuria to do a fight for the contender position .

Even so, pressure from the UFC, the fans, and Topuria himself made such a clash seem possible. This fight is something Dana White's company is eagerly seeking, as it's the best fight currently available and one of the biggest in history. However, this time there's more than just rumors. Everything seems to indicate that the Russian has flat-out rejected the fight. with Ilia Topuria.

According to Russian media outlet TASS Sports, Makhachev reportedly refused to take the fight. "Islam has not accepted this fight . He maintains the position that Topuria needs to earn a title shot," Makhachev's team has declared. With this, the options for the Dagestani are closing, while those for Topuria are opening. The logical opponent for to face the champion would be Arman Tsarukyan , however, Dana White, the president of the UFC, indicated that he would have to wait in line again. Therefore, among the options would be Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje , who is coming off a victory and has the same manager as Islam Makhachev, Ali Abdelaziz.

In the case of Ilia Topuria, His rivals would be practically the same , since they are ranked high in the lightweight rankings. It must also be kept in mind that even if the former featherweight champion has to fight as a contender, he can still be a contender. Next up for Makhachev . This means Topuria could fight in the summer and face the Russian, who would be frozen, at the end of the year. Even so, the future remains uncertain as the UFC remains silent on the matter, so we still have to wait. a definitive answer .