Islam Makhachev’s mindset for potential Ilia Topuria clash stands apart from Jon Jones–Tom Aspinall saga, says analyst

Islam Makhachev last entered the octagon in January as he defeated Renato Moicano via first-round submission at UFC 311 to defend his lightweight title for a record-setting fourth time. While there have been several fighters calling for the opportunity to challenge him next, reports have surfaced that Ilia Topuria could be in line to fight for the lightweight belt at UFC 317 during International Fight Week.

Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell of the Morning Kombat podcast discussed rumors that Makhachev does not want to face the former featherweight champion. The latter questioned what is going on with his stance that Topuria does not deserve the title shot, comparing it to Jon Jones' comments on facing Tom Aspinall, leading the former to claim:

"Islam didn't sit active for years at a time and like hold a title hostage. I mean, he's been much more active so to me it's not the same kind of thing. Also, it's like, oh, a fighter said one thing at one point in their career and now they're saying a different thing at a different point in their career?"

When asked if he believes it is because Topuria is a natural featherweight and all of Makhachev's title defenses have come against fighters who started at 145 pounds, Thomas added:

"Yeah, it's not like he's ducking smoke if he's wanting a guy at [170] and the only reason he doesn't want Belal [Muhammad] is because they're obviously - they have a relationship from training together. It's not like he doesn't want tough fights. He just wants the right kind of tough fight, at this point, which, by the way, you can also make the claim that if you're Islam Makhachev and doing what he's done and fought who he's fought, maybe he's earned that position."

Check out the Morning Kombat podcast's full comments on Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria below (22:57):

Thomas speculated that Makhachev could only have a few fights left in his career. He noted that the lightweight champion may want to maximize his remaining fights without fighting another opponent who is coming up from featherweight.

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Report suggests Islam Makhachev could be forced to vacate lightweight title

While Islam Makhachev has expressed interest in fighting for the welterweight title, he appears likely to wait for the result of next month's title bout between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena before making a decision. A recent report suggested that he could be forced to vacate his lightweight title, clearing the way for Ilia Topuria to face Charles Oliveira at UFC 317.

Championship Rounds shared the comments from mixed martial arts journalist Álvaro Colmenero, posting:

"🚨 Ilia Topuria will be fighting for either the UNDISPUTED or VACANT lightweight title at #UFC317 on June 28th "Everything points to Islam Makhachev defending his belt against Topuria. Otherwise, he will have to vacate it so that [Topuria] can challenge for it against Oliveira." 👀👀 [via @KOlmeneroMMA] #UFC #MMA"

Check out the post from Championship Rounds below:

Muhammad recently shared that he has way too much respect for Makhachev and his camp to face the lightweight champion. If he can get past Della Maddalena, that could solve a lot of the UFC's problems, however, the promotion likely wants to begin promoting the International Fight Week headliner before waiting for the result of next month's UFC 315 matchup.