Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has no plans to slow down and is willing to take all the heat. Aside from his upcoming title fight with Max Holloway, he has already teased clashes with some of the biggest superstars. This includes names like Islam Makhachev, as evidenced by his recent rant on the Team Khabib member.
A few days later, Topuria made headlines with his live Instagram session, during which he interacted with fans. He claimed that Makhachev had no chance of winning against him on the streets. In retaliation, Makhachev’s teammate Usman Nurmagomedov took to Instagram and questioned Topuria’s street fighting credentials. While responding to this, Topuria mocked Nurmagomedov for using steroids.
It has been a long time, to be honest. How are you doing with drugs? Are you still on steroids?
Ilia Topuria via X
This remark was regarding Nurmagomedov’s six-month suspension from Bellator after testing positive for a banned drug. Nurmagomedov stated that the substances in his system were due to a doctor’s prescription, which he did not notify the organization. However, the damage was done, and Team Khabib received a wide range of criticism.
It has been a long time, to be honest. How are you doing with drugs? Are you still on steroids? https://t.co/Da50uyFXoL
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) October 3, 2024
Conor McGregor, Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s old rival, used the chance to slam the Dagestani team for failing repeated drug tests. Since then, Usman Nurmagomedov has made a comeback, defending his lightweight title against Alexandr Shabliy. However, that does not necessarily impress Topuria, who made sure to strike a nerve.
The rivalry between Ilia Topuria vs. Team Khabib’s Islam Makhachev
Ilia Topuria has a great respect for Khabib Nurmagomedov and his championship reign. However, the featherweight fighter mentioned that he would have won against the ‘Eagle.’ Topuria always wanted to fight Nurmagomedov, and Islam Makhachev is the obvious target.
What started as a simple misunderstanding on social media has now escalated into fierce competition. Topuria has regularly discussed going up and defeating Makhachev to become the double champion. Conversely, the lightweight champion believes that ‘El Matador’ still has a lot of work to do before moving up.
Ilia is good, yes. I think in my opinion he has good wrestling skills, but he always uses his boxing. And when you have good boxing, your opponent has good boxing, it’s a little bit dangerous. He is good, but his next opponent is Max Holloway. If he beats Max, [and] if he beats Movsar Evloev… He has a big job to do in his division.
Islam Makhachev via Marca
Topuria and Makhachev are two of the UFC’s finest champions at the moment. The fact that these two are capable of everything, from striking to grappling, has fans anticipating their fight. Topuria may be able to face Makhachev in the future if he can defeat Max Holloway in his upcoming bout.
