Islam Makhachev fires back at Ilia Topuria: | MMA News
The struggle of phrases between UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev and light-weight titleholder Ilia Topuria continues to head up.
Topuria headlines the UFC event at the White House on June 14 against interim titleholder Justin Gaethje, but would somewhat be going through Makhachev. Topuria believes Makhachev has been avoiding a struggle between the 2 and accused the top pound-for-pound fighter of ducking the matchup for the UFC White House event.
“Once again Islam comes up with an excuse. This time it’s an injury,” Topuria wrote on X. “I always knew I’d be half of the White House event. Even when the UFC told me at one level that they wouldn’t depend on me for the event, I knew it was half of the negotiation. When they finally told me I’d be on the White House card, they talked about Islam and I didn’t hesitate for a second to settle for the struggle. Even though the struggle hadn’t been formally confirmed yet, the White House card was going to be announced the next day. And when I woke, I discovered that Islam had gotten injured. And then Justin Gaethje appeared. Once again, another person who can pay for Islam’s escape.”
Makhachev fired back at “El Matador” accusing him of ‘chickening out’ of the growing grudge match.
“We both know who chickened out right here,” Makhachev replied to Topuria’s post on X. “You can cowl your cowardice with nasty tweets, but don’t fear, sooner or later you’ll get what you requested for! and your fats ass supervisor don’t have to ask for billions to struggle me, we’ll do it for free.”
We both know who chickened out here 😉 you can cover your cowardice with nasty tweets, but don’t worry, one day you will get what you asked for! and your fat ass manager don’t have to ask for billions to fight me, we’ll do it for free. https://t.co/PTCJxG0gTv
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) March 10, 2026
Topuria is ranked No. 2 in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings. A struggle between the 2 champions would pit the 2 best fighters in the world against each other while in their athletic primes.
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