Ilia Topuria’s rise as the biggest star in combat sports continued this past Saturday when he won the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317.
This past Saturday in the UFC 317 main event, Ilia Topuria once again separated a UFC fan favorite from consciousness when he knocked Charles Oliveira out in the first round.
Immediately after the fight, Topuria was faced with his potential next opponent as Paddy Pimblett stepped into the Octagon for an impromptu face off.
However, UFC boss Dana White expressed his dislike with the fact that Pimblett was allowed into the cage, stating that it shouldn’t have happened.
Ilia Topuria doesn’t believe fight against Islam Makhachev will happen
There are seemingly a few options for ‘El Matador’ to fight next, from Pimblett to Arman Tsarukyan, with Justin Gaethje still part of the title conversation.
However, during the UFC 317 post-fight press conference, White suggested that Gaethje should retire after he gave a title fight ultimatum, potentially removing him from the conversation.
Prior to his lightweight title fight, it seemed as though Topuria’s first choice would be a fight against Islam Makhachev as the two have continued to feud for months.
Despite that, following his win over Oliveira, Topuria claimed that the UFC doesn’t want to make that fight, even though during the post-fight press conference he stated he still has space for a third belt, teasing a potential future move up to welterweight.
“Realistically from all of the conversations I had with the UFC and how the situation has been throughout the whole process, I don’t think that fight is gonna happen, I will be surprised if I get a call and they tell me I’m gonna fight against Islam, which I would love to do it,” Topuria told ESPNMMA.
“I’m not gonna lose my life inside that Octagon so I am ready for whoever… Hopefully (we fight each other), why not? If the UFC wants to make that fight happen they will make it happen but I don’t know if they want to make it happen,” he continued.
The UFC are still working on a welterweight title fight between Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena, and ahead of that, the Russian declared that if he wins the 170lb title, he would like to move back down to 155lbs to reclaim that belt.
Topuria believes Pimblett is scared to fight him after face off
At this point, a fight between Topuria and Pimblett seems like the most likely outcome considering their face off following the main event.
However, the Spaniard believes ‘The Baddy’ doesn’t actually want to fight him as he saw fear in his eyes during their brief encounter.
“The eyes never lie, he doesn’t want to fight me. I swear to god he doesn’t want to fight me, I saw the fear in his eyes, the eyes never lie.
“When they brought him inside the Octagon he was scared. He was like ‘What the f— am I doing here, I should have gone to school or university, why didn’t I choose something different.'” Topuria said.