UFC veteran snubs Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria as the answer to lightweight division's contender crisis, drops interesting pick for title shot  

Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria remain in the headlines concerning the speculations of a potential showdown between the pair. A UFC veteran joined a host of other MMA pundits and weighed in on a fight between the duo while suggesting a contender in the lightweight division as a suitable rival for Makhachev.

The 33-year-old Dagestani fighter has defended his lightweight title four times, whereas Topuria has defended it once since winning it at UFC 298. Both fighters have indicated their desire to move to another division and fight for the second belt.

Makhachev recently expressed his desire to move to the middleweight division and fight Dricus du Plessis for the title. Similarly, Topuria called out the reigning lightweight champion for a title fight eyeing another belt.

Weighing in on the possibility of a fight between Makhachev and Topuria, Chael Sonnen trashed the idea. He suggested Beneil Dariush as a potential opponent for Makhachev in a video on his YouTube channel:

"Let's stop with this charade. Islam has already done favor to the 45 pounders and by the way 45 pounders show they do not have what it takes to deal with Islam, that happened. That's a proven fact, you might think you're an exception, but we can't ask a guy to take the risk for you to prove something good, he gets to prove nothing."

Sonnen further added:

"We can't ask him to do that when he has not done it once, he's done it twice. So, a big miss at 155 right now, you guys want to know a big miss? Benny! Benny's get the skills, resume, and the fame to fight for a world championship."

Check out Chael Sonnen's comments on Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria below (4:52):

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Ilia Topuria opens up on potential Islam Makhachev clash, calls himself "better"

Ilia Topuria signed off the past year on a high after securing dominant victories over Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. He has been calling for a fight in another division since his first title defense against Holloway. 'El Matador' called out Islam Makhachev recently after his win over Renato Moicano at UFC 311.

An excerpt of Topuria's interview with Main Event TV was posted by ACD MMA on X, in which he was asked if a fight between him and Makhachev had been already signed. The reigning UFC featherweight champion responded by saying:

"I didn't know anything yet because I didn't sign any contract. So, we'll see what's gonna happen. Me personally, what I wanna do is to move up to 155 because I know for a fact that I can become a two-weight champion. "

Topuria added:

"Islam he's a great fighter, he's the No. 1 pound-for-pound for people, for me it's me. I'm the best fighter in the world, so I know I can do with him whatever I wanna do, because I know I am much better than him."

Check out Ilia Topuria's comments on Islam Makhachev below: