Michael Chandler doesn’t think Ilia Topuria is telling the truth about his weight ahead of his move up to 155lbs.
After picking up two of the biggest scalps in the featherweight division, knocking out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway back-to-back, Ilia Topuria catapulted into superstardom.
Despite reigning over the 145lb division, Topuria shockingly announced he was vacating the title and would be moving up to lightweight permanently.
And with that, the Spaniard has announced he will be moving up to 155lbs with a ‘new identity’ scrapping his famous ‘El Matador’ nickname.
READ MORE: Ilia Topuria makes extremely bold declaration ahead of potential UFC lightweight title clash
Ilia Topuria accused of ‘lying’ about his weight ahead of move up a division
Ahead of his move up to the lightweight division, Topuria has continuously attempted to set up a fight against the current champion, Islam Makhachev, despite Makhachev seemingly not interested.
The 28-year-old’s main reason for vacating his featherweight title was because he claimed the weight cut was getting too much for him and that he walks around at around 180-190lbs.
However, following this revelation, Topuria has been branded a liar by lightweight contender, Michael Chandler.
“His first fight in the UFC at lightweight, he got dropped by a head kick,” Chandler began to explain to Covers.
Topuria moved up in weight to fight Jai Herbert at UFC London in 2022 after struggling to find an opponent at featherweight. He went on to narrowly avoid defeat before scoring a terrifying knockout.
“Now, I’m not going to say that is going to happen, or us lightweights are so much bigger and badder than the little featherweights.
“But I will say, these are some big dudes. We hit a lot harder than the 145ers. It’s going to be a very interesting jump-up.
“I think he’s lying about the weight a little bit. I don’t think he weighs 190lbs. I’ve seen the man, I’ve stood next to the man, we’ve had conversations, with that being said, yeah, I think it would be cool for him to come in and fight somebody inside the top five to get the title shot,” Chandler continued.
Joe Rogan believes Ilia Topuria won’t fight Makhachev next
Although Topuria is hopeful that his starpower will result in him fighting the Russian immediately, considering Makhachev’s stance on the fight, it seems unlikely.
And with that, Topuria has been trading barbs online with the former lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira, after ‘Do Bronx’ admitted he wouldn’t be interested in fighting ‘El Matador’.
UFC icon, Joe Rogan, also thinks the promotion will go in a different direction and will matchup Topuria up with a lightweight contender first.
“I don’t think (Makhachev vs Topuria) is happening,” he claimed on an episode of his Fight Companion on Saturday.
“I wonder what they’re gonna do with Topuria. I like Topuria vs Oliveira. Oliveira is so tall, so dangerous everywhere, huge reach advantage. Those lightweights are real big, Islam’s huge.”