Things are heating up between Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev after the former posted a story on the photo-sharing platform Instagram mocking the current UFC Lightweight Champion.
Ilia Topuria recently stirred the pot by teasing Islam Makhachev with a video of his knockout loss.
The saga unfolded when a counterfeit X account, masquerading as the reigning UFC lightweight champion, made waves by claiming to face ‘El Matador’ after defending his title against Justin Gaethje on June 8.
Islam Makhachev responds to Ilia Topuria's message on Instagram. pic.twitter.com/tBQdKCEuUf
— 𝙍𝙪𝙚𝙗𝙚𝙣 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙧 🥇 (@ruebencarter02) February 26, 2024
Ilia Topuria, the UFC featherweight champion, hovers around Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champion. The two men take jabs at each other.
Islam Makhachev is currently ranked number 1 in all categories in the UFC. At 32, the Dagestani is in his prime. In his last appearance in the cage, he scored a huge knockout on Alexander Volkanovski, making a second defense of the lightweight belt. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé already has his plans for 2024. Indeed, he already has a big idea of his opponents and the dates on which he will face them. However, a new competitor may have just entered the fray: Ilia Topuria.
Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria
Ilia Topuria is the new sensation of the UFC. The Spaniard of Georgian origin won the featherweight world title by defeating the dominant Alexander Volkanovski by KO during the main event of UFC 298. Now, he is looking for his next opponent. After his victory, he talked about facing Conor McGregor at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid. But for several days, ‘El Matador’ has been lurking around Islam Makhachev. On Instagram, he attacked the Dagestani by posting the video of his only defeat, which came by knockout against Adriano Martins in 2015.
Ilia Topuria posted a video to his Instagram story of Islam Makhachev's only professional loss with a message that translates to: "The boy is cutting you off 😆" 🥶 pic.twitter.com/HZR6Ac9tXI
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) February 26, 2024
“The guy is interrupting you,” wrote Ilia Topuria in Russian. Islam Makhachev replied: “Another little guy talking. Another little guy who wants to be crushed. »
Check out Ilia Topuria’s post below (translated by Instagram):
Ilia Topuria has posted the video of Islam Makhachev being knocked out by Adriano Martins to his Instagram story. 👀😳
The message translates to:
"The boy is cutting you off 😆" pic.twitter.com/ujV0V9m54z
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) February 26, 2024
Fans responded to Topuria’s jab at Makhachev with a variety of reactions.
One fan wrote:
“Islam by whatever he wants. I will stand on this until it happens.”
Another wrote:
“Islam’s a bad matchup for Ilia.”
Check out some more reactions below:
“I’m already ready for this dude to lose lol.”
“Islam will kill him, look out, what what you ask for Georgia”
