Ilia Topuria has big fights ahead of him when he returns to action and he hopes a fight with Islam Makhachev is still in the cards.<\/p>\n
The UFC lightweight champion told eldoberdanMMA<\/a> that a bout with Makhachev, currently champion at 170 pounds, is a possibility of Makhachev is interested, and the matchup would pair the arguably the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world<\/a> against one another. Topuria has always liked how he matches up with Makhachev, and if Makhachev\u2019s coach and close friend Khabib Nurmagomedov decides to get involved, Topuria is ready to deal with him as well.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that wrestling [Makhachev] thinks he has\u2026 we\u2019ll see how well it works on me,\u201d Topuria said (Spanish translation via Championship Rounds<\/a>). \u201cAlthough with Islam, maybe that\u2019s something the fans want to see. To dominate him on the feet, land three or four clean shots where I need to, and then submit him in his corner in front of Khabib.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re so cocky and arrogant, I would really love to submit him in front of [Nurmagomedov], and if Khabib wants to step in afterward, I\u2019ll gladly step on his head, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Earler this year, when the undefeated Topuria announced his plans to vacate his featherweight championship and move up to 155 pounds, a fight with Makhachev loomed, but then Makhachev made his own move to welterweight where he later defeated Jack Della Maddalena to become a two-division champion. Prior to that, Topuria completed his own two-division quest, knocking out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 to claim the vacant lightweight belt.<\/p>\n Once again a division apart, Topuria vs. Makhachev appears to becoming less likely as time goes on, but Topuria isn\u2019t letting go of it completely.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted that fight,\u201d Topuria said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been ready for it. After I defend my title at 155, we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n