Dan Hooker dismisses Ilia Topuria while making bold claim on Islam Makhachev’s next opponent being decided at UFC 315

Islam Makhachev's next lightweight title defense may not come against Ilia Topuria, according to Dan Hooker. Topuria's decision to vacate the featherweight belt and move up to 155 pounds has seen many fans predict him to be Makhachev's next opponent.

Some of those fans also believe 'El Matador' to be the man to dethrone the dominant Dagestani. But Hooker believes the lightweight champion's next opponent could be a welterweight.

'The Hangman' pointed to the 170-pound title fight set to headline UFC 315 between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. With Muhammad and Makhachev friends and part-time teammates, they share no major interest in the clashing for the title.

During a recent episode of UFC on Sky, shown by Sky Sports NZ, Hooker said:

"It's almost a lose-lose situation for Islam Makhachev if he beats Ilia Topuria. 'Cause it's like, if you beat him, you don't get any real pats on the back or accolades or credentials for it. If you lose to him, then you got knocked out by a featherweight. It would then tarnish and destroy your legacy."

He added:

"Champions always have to continue to go up [divisions]. That's what I believe Makhachev will do. Jack Della [Maddalena] beats Belal Muhammad, I think 100% we see Jack Della [Maddalena] vs. Makhachev for the welterweight title."

Catch Dan Hooker's comments below (14:20):

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Islam Makhachev's manager tells Ilia Topuria to prove himself as a lightweight before title shot

Ilia Topuria's back-to-back knockout wins over arguably the two best featherweights of all time, Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway, are not enough for an immediate lightweight title shot, according to Rizvan Magomedov.

Magomedov has worked as the manager for Islam Makhachev for many years. Despite Topuria also having a career win at lightweight to boost his featherweight accolades, the MMA manager believes he needs to beat either Charles Oliveira or Dustin Poirier to prove his title contendership at 155 pounds.

Magomedov recently took to X and wrote:

"Topuria vs Dustin/Charles contender fight, to prove he's legit lightweight. So we don't have to defeat another 'small featherweight.' We need big fight that make sense for everyone. We already gave chances to featherweight champ that was reigning for long time."