UFC champion slams Islam Makhachev for avoiding fight with Ilia Topuria

Islam Makhachev is the UFC lightweight champion. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram/UFC India

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Even though he is currently the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, Islam Makhachev has potential opponents for the future. His resistance to accepting a fight with Ilia Topuria has generated several criticisms from various personalities in the sport, such as Merab Dvalishvili , for example. The current bantamweight champion (up to 61,2 kg) went public through a video on social media to question the Russian's attitude, in addition to citing his own example as the belt holder.

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Merab thinks Islam Makhachev needs to fight Ilia Topuria next:

“Islam told me at the press conference 'Merab I respect you but when you have a top contender you should fight him', and I said okay…

Now he has a top contender as Ilia Topuria but he's not fighting him…

Nobody… pic.twitter.com/jRaghPkkRi

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) April 8, 2025

“Islam told me at the press conference: 'Merab, I respect you, but when you have a major competitor, you should fight him,' and I said okay… Now he has a major competitor like Ilia Topuria , but he's not fighting him… Nobody criticized Islam like they criticized me,” the Georgian stated.

Ilia Topuria is a former featherweight champion (Photo / Reproduction Instagram UFC)

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Makhachev and Merab have already provoked each other

Islam Makhachev defeated Renato Moicano at UFC 311. Photo: Instagram/UFC Español

The moment Dvalishvili referred to occurred during the press conference before UFC 311 in January of this year. Amidst a war of words between Merab and Umar Nurmagomedov , Makhachev's training partner, the lightweight champion (up to 70,3 kg) criticized the fighter for preferring a rematch with Sean O'Malley instead of a fight with the Russian.

The Georgian managed to defeat Umar by unanimous decision, while Makhachev defeated Renato Moicano by submission in the first round with a triangle choke. Since then, Ilia Topuria has announced his move up to the lightweight division, and a fight with the Russian has been expected. However, several members of the Dagestan Clan have already expressed their opposition to the duel at this time, including Khabib Nurmagomedov himself.

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