Umar Nurmagomedov chimes in on Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria's feud: "He's not on Islam's level"

Umar Nurmagomedov recently chimed in on the ongoing beef between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria. He noted that it doesn't make any sense for his teammate to entertain a bout against the featherweight champion despite the exchanges and comments circulating on social media.

The rivalry basically came out of nowhere as the featherweight champion had previously targeted a bout against Conor McGregor. However, the UFC champions' animosity continued after 'El Matador' got into an exchange with Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov regarding a hypothetical street fight against his teammate.

Topuria has since said that he wants a bout against Makhachev to take place in the octagon so he wouldn't be liable for medical bills.

During his appearance on Submission Radio, 'Young Eagle' weighed in on the situation and noted that the featherweight champion should focus on his own division.

Nurmagomedov believes Makhachev is the better fighter and shouldn't accept a fight with Topuria unless he defends his title like Alexander Volkanovski did:

"[Topuria] just became champion. You have to defend your title a couple times. Even one time. Please, stay focused on your division. [Topuria has] Movsar [Evloev], Aljamain Sterling on the way. He has right now Max Holloway...This game [has] levels. They have levels and he's not on Islam [Makhachev's] level. He's too small." [12:44 - 14:03]

Check out the full interview with Umar Nurmagomedov below:

---

Umar Nurmagomedov discloses whether he's interested in moving up to featherweight

In addition to chiming in on the ongoing beef between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, Umar Nurmagomedov disclosed whether he would be interested in moving up to featherweight.

If he does, 'Young Eagle' would be in the same division as Topuria, who is the reigning featherweight champion. During the aforementioned interview, Nurmagomedov shut down a move to 145 pounds because he believes he would be too small for the division:

"For [featherweight], I need to be bigger, you know? Some fighters who fight at [145 pounds], they weigh like, 80kg when they not train and they cut almost 14-13kg. For 145 [pounds], I'm smaller, I don't know...But right now, I'm too skinny to fight [at] 145 [pounds]." [11:41 - 12:13]

Check out highlights from Umar Nurmagomedov's knockout win over Raoni Barcelos below: