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his thoughts on the Lightweight title picture, a division currently owned by his protege and longtime team mate Islam Makhachev. Topuria is widely viewed as next-in-line for a shot at 155-pound gold, but most of Team Makhachev is resistant to that idea, including Nurmagomedov. Per Nurmagomedov, too many of Makhachev’s title defenses have already come versus Featherweights (and other odd circumstances), so they want a bonafide Lightweight contender for the sake of his legacy.
Topuria has a different view. According to the former Featherweight kingpin, Topuria is simply protecting his friend from losing his belt.
“Khabib knows I’m the one to take the belt from Islam,” Topuria wrote on X. “Only reason he doesn’t want Islam to fight me.”
Of the possible Lightweight options, Topuria is undoubtedly the highest profile option, the opponent who would help headline the biggest card and sell the most pay-per-view (PPV) buys. If Khabib, Makhachev, and co. aren’t interested, then clearly they really are more concerned about his legacy than anything else. In that case, it’s hard to beat the No. 1 pound-for-pound king taking on No. 3, who was widely called “Fighter of the Year” just four months ago!
There’s only one option that could be greater for Makhachev’s legacy: a second title. If Makhachev’s training partner, Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, happens to lose his belt to Australian slugger Jack Della Maddalena, Makhachev will be imminently interested in jumping up a weight class for an immediate title shot of his own.
As it stands, UFC 315 is likely to decide the future of more than one division.
