2 weeks Ago By Jamie Theodosi, Bloody Elbow
Khabib Nurmagomedov still isn’t keen on the idea of Ilia Topuria immediately fighting Islam Makhachev following his move up to 155lbs. When Ilia Topuria shockingly vacated his featherweight title recently, it seemed inevitable that he would be the next title challenger for Islam Makhachev . Despite that, following Justin Gaethje’s recent win over Rafael Fiziev, Makhachev’s team listed Gaethje as the ‘ideal opponent’ for the Russian champion, with ‘The Highlight’ continuing to push for that fight.
And with that, Topuria has accused Makhachev of ducking him and has instead begun a feud with former champion, Charles Oliveira . Khabib blocking Makhachev vs Topuria according to Henry Cejudo Despite the ongoing talks regarding a potential fight between Makhachev and ‘La Layenda’, according to former UFC double champion Henry Cejudo , it is Khabib Nurmagomedov who is blocking the fight. Following his permanent move up to the lightweight division, Topuria claimed that the UFC promised him an immediate title fight against Makhachev, which adds further confusion to the saga.
“I remember talking to Khabib, and Khabib said this: ‘It’s not fair for Ilia to skip the line and go after the title shot with Islam because that’s all Islam’s been doing he gave Volkanovski two title shots,'” Cejudo began to explain during an interview with Mike Bohn. “I don’t even think it’s gonna be Islam’s choice. I think Khabib’s gonna step in and be like, ‘He needs to fight the number one contender.
’ If Ilia does beat the number one contender, then sure. I personally think Islam will fight anybody, anytime, anywhere, but I think the person more likely playing bad cop is Khabib Nurmagomedov,” Cejudo continued. Cejudo is close to the Makhachev camp, having trained with both Islam and Khabib before.
Who will Islam Makhachev fight next? With it looking increasingly unlikely that the Spaniard will be granted an immediate title shot, he has been left in an unfortunate position. Despite his ongoing feud with Oliveira , ‘Do Bronx’ has stated that he is not interested in fighting Topuria next, as he is also chasing a title shot. However, it is unlikely that the Brazilian will be given the next title shot and will likely need another fight in the meantime.
And with that, Justin Gaethje is seemingly in the favored position to be the next title challenger, coming off the back of another impressive win and being the fighter the champion wants next. This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission..
