Islam Makhachev believes Ilia Topuria will turn into a UFC champion once more, however is uncertain of 1 factor.
Topuria, after dominating the featherweight division, laid arms on light-weight gold after a brutal KO win towards Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June 2025.
Whereas he was anticipated to efficiently defend the title towards his subsequent opponent, Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250, Topuria suffered a devastating setback. ‘The Highlight’ handed Topuria a brutal beatdown, finally forcing a TKO by way of nook stoppage on the finish of spherical 4. It additionally marked ‘El Matador’s first loss in his MMA profession, even giving rise to doubts about whether or not he would ever be the identical once more.
On being requested about Topuria in a current interview with Demetrious Johnson on his YouTube channel, Islam Makhachev sounded certain that the 29-year-old would bounce again. Nonetheless, he was uncertain of 1 factor:
Certain, he will probably be again, as a result of he’s nonetheless younger and he has time. I hope he’ll come again and present a great efficiency…Ilia [Topuria] is an efficient fighter. He has good punch, he has good wrestling and good abilities within the floor. If he focuses, possibly he’ll be champion once more…However this struggle [against Gaethje] modified his life, we don’t know which manner.
Try Islam Makhachev’s feedback beneath:
Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev appeared like it could headline UFC Freedom 250 at one level
Ever since plans of Ilia Topuria transferring as much as light-weight started rising, talks of a possible struggle towards Islam Makhachev had been rife. And as soon as Topuria clinched 155lbs gold, it appeared prefer it was solely a matter of time earlier than the 2 would face off.
In early 2026, there have been rumors that the 2 stars would struggle at UFC Freedom 250. It solely appeared to develop stronger, solely to come back crashing down after the UFC introduced that Justin Gaethje can be his opponent and never Makhachev.
To this point, there is no such thing as a stable purpose as to why the struggle by no means got here to fruition, with the respective camps of each fighters giving their very own variations.
