UFC fans are convinced that something fishy is going on with Islam Makhachev’s new teammate.
The UFC lightweight champion recently implored Daniel Cormier to send his son to Dagestan so that he can master the art of wrestling, claiming two or three years of training would make him a force to be reckoned with.
‘DC’ opted against that drastic option. However, the pound-for-pound number one UFC fighter’s words clearly resonated with one youngster, who has traveled from Spain to Dagestan to train with the best.
Islam Makhachev shared a video of his new teammate on social media and it prompted a huge reaction from fans who unearthed a photo of the Spaniard training with Ilia Topuria, who could be next in line for a 155lb title shot.
Fans accuse Ilia Topuria of sending spy to Dagestan
Topuria recently vacated his UFC featherweight title and announced his intention to move up a division.
It’s currently unclear if he will get an immediate shot at lightweight gold or if he’ll have to work his way up the rankings.
Still, a section of fight fans are convinced he’s sent a spy to Makhachev’s camp after a picture of the Alicante-based UFC star alongside the Russian’s new teammate was shared online.
“Knew he was a spy,” one fan said. While another added: “That is definitely a spy.”
“Our family is sending spies so we can conquer the Dagestanis,” this Topuria fan wrote
“Bud needs a spy. That’s crazy,” one shocked social media user commented.
“Insane undercover work,” a fifth fan said.
“Islam knows and he doesn’t care, he’s a great Champion and appreciate the kid but yeah send and ‘FORGET’,” someone else theorized.
Daniel Cormier expresses Islam Makhachev vs Ilia Topuria concern
Cormier recently shared an interesting take on Makhachev’s potential fight with Topuria.
The former dual-weight UFC champion is concerned that his teammate will receive backlash for beating a former featherweight fighter after previously knocking out Alexander Volkanovski and submitting Renato Moicano, who made their names at 145lbs.
In a video he titled, ‘Islam Makhachev will get crushed if he beats Ilia Topuria’, Cormier shared his thoughts on the situation.
The 45-year-old said: “I don’t know that Islam should fight him first. For Makhachev, he goes and beats Ilia Topuria, people will say he beat Alexander Volkanovski, Ilia Topuria, Charles Oliveira, and Renato Moicano, seems pretty good — that’s five title fight wins.
“But in that, they’ll say, ‘He’s defended the belt three times against featherweights’. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you do or in how high a regard you hold someone; the fact that he was a champion in a lower weight class, is what’s going to be pointed to the moment Islam beats him.
“Anytime you have a dominant champion, you look for reasons to discredit them. It happens all the time. ‘Oh, he beat a featherweight and a guy who was ranked lower on a day’s notice’. People will always try to find holes in his title reign that aren’t there. He is the best in the world, and we should respect that.”