The UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has set his aim on the lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev. At UFC 308, ‘El Matador’ will look to defend his throne against the former champion Max Holloway, and then Topuria is looking to become a two-division king.
Ilia Topuria
The Georgian-Spanish will enter his UFC 308 title fight with an undefeated professional record on October 26. Ilia Topuria captured the featherweight title when he knocked out pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year. Now, he faces a stiff test against the former champion ‘Blessed’ Max Holloway this weekend.
With a victory at UFC 308, Ilia Topuria will look to go up in weight to challenge the lightweight world champion Islam Makhachev, who is a student of all-time great Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Dagestani Makhachev has impressive wins over fighters such as Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski, and Charles Oliveira, among others. He is an aggressive fighter with a smother top game on the ground.
In an interview, Ilia Topuria explained how he sees the match against the lightweight king. He said:
“A style that Islam has never ever faced in his life, and will never face unless he faces me…So that is why I say that right now, there is no one who can overshadow me.
“I know what bothers them, what doesn’t bother them. So, for me, even if it seems like a very difficult fight, I would make Islam suffer a lot. Too much…I’m a guy who has impeccable physical preparation. In the fifth round, I am the same as in the first and I represent a threat at any second of the fight.“
But before he can challenge for the lightweight throne, he has a major challenge ahead of him as he soon meets Max Holloway. ‘Blessed’ a an aggressive volume striker who looks to bury his opponents under a barrage of punches. This match is set to headline in Abu Dhabi this weekend.