Following the recent announcement of Topuria vs Holloway as the headliner for UFC 308 Talk has emerged of the winner facing Islam. Islam Makhachev was supposed to be on the card facing Arman Tsarukyan however was injured. The lightweight king suffered a hand injury having a torn ligament and thus has to sit out. Prior to his fight with Poirier let his views on a Topuria fight be known in an interview with MARCA.com.
Islam Makhachev Will Fight Ilia Topuria Under One Condition
In the interview Makhachev said, “he has good wrestling skills, but he always uses his boxing. And when you have good boxing, your opponent has good boxing, it’s a little bit dangerous.”. Here he makes an accurate assessment of Ilia and his style praising the champion. However, he points out that the stand up style is risky this could also be referencing Ilia’s opponent Max Holloway is know for his excellent striking and boxing.
He then went on to say, “He is good, but his next opponent is Max Holloway. If he beats Max, if he beats Movsar Evloev … He has a big job to do in his division.”. This is where Islam Makhachev outlines his conditions and they are reasonable. First and foremost Ilia has to get past Max to remain as featherweight champ otherwise going up to fight Islam doesn’t make sense. He also wants Ilia to get past Evloev and clear out his division which makes perfect sense.
The main reason the first Volkanovski fight had so much appeal was Volk had effectively cleared out 145 and didn’t have much to do. So, moving up made sense for Volk as there wasn’t really anyone else he or Max hadn’t beat. However, Ilia has only recently become champ and has much work to do. Defending against Max and Evloev would be a great start but even then there are other contenders. This would also let Islam get some more defences in the mean time.
Islam rounded off by saying if those criteria are met “I gave Volkanovski the chance twice. Maybe for the future, someday. Why not?”. This is a perfectly reasonable take from Makhachev and who knows me may end up seeing Makhachev vs Topuria down the road at some point.
Islam Makhachev vs Max Holloway?
Islam Makhachev in a separate more recent interview in Abu Dhabi gave his thoughts on a potential Holloway fight. Makhachev said, “Why not? I already beat Arman. If UFC puts him next, that’s no problem. But I’m not excited much. I need some new name, new challenger, I already beat Arman. If Max wants, let’s do it.”. So, Makhachev let it be known he is open to the fight and if offered he’ll accept. This is a no brainer a fight against Holloway sells itself.
Makhachev added, “I don’t need his [BMF] belt, but Max is a good name, big name. It’s going to be a crazy fight for the fans… If he beats Topuria, and this is a tough match for him, [but] if he beats Topuria and the UFC wants the match, let’s go, let’s do it.”. Hear he acknowledges how big of a fight it would be which it would be massive. Also, to be frank Holloway vs Islam at this point makes more sense and is more intriguing.
Holloway absolutely schooled and then knocked out Justin Gaethje someone in the top 3 at lightweight. And so seeing him against Islam or any other top lightweight is extremely intriguing. Max is also very big for 145 and filled out very nicely at 155. Max going to 155 just makes sense given the weight cuts to 145 have been a struggle and now we know he can succeed there makes it even more promising.
Both hypothetical match ups are intriguing to think about but first we must wait and see what happens with Topuria vs Holloway. Will Topuria defeat another legend? or will Holloway finally reclaim featherweight gold?
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
