{"id":6033,"date":"2025-05-25T06:56:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T05:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/?p=6033"},"modified":"2025-05-25T11:15:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-25T10:15:59","slug":"renato-moicano-drops-a-bombshell-topuria-will-defeat-makhachev-is-a-new-era-approaching-in-the-ufc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/renato-moicano-drops-a-bombshell-topuria-will-defeat-makhachev-is-a-new-era-approaching-in-the-ufc\/","title":{"rendered":"Renato Moicano Drops a Bombshell: &#8220;Topuria Will Defeat Makhachev&#8221;\u2026 Is a New Era Approaching in the UFC?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"149\" data-end=\"256\">Renato Moicano Drops a Bombshell: &#8220;Topuria Will Defeat Makhachev&#8221;\u2026 Is a New Era Approaching in the UFC?<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"258\" data-end=\"584\">In a surprising statement, Brazilian fighter Renato Moicano predicted that Spanish-Georgian star Ilia Topuria would defeat Islam Makhachev if the two were to meet in the Octagon. Moicano\u2019s comment goes beyond a mere prediction\u2014it reflects a potential shift in the balance of power at the top of the UFC\u2019s lightweight division.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"586\" data-end=\"1003\">Topuria (16-0), the undefeated featherweight champion, recently decided to vacate his 145-pound title and move up to lightweight. His ambition? To face the reigning champion, Islam Makhachev, and claim a second belt. However, with Makhachev reportedly considering a move up to welterweight following his friend Belal Muhammad\u2019s loss to Jack Della Maddalena, the timing of this potential super fight remains uncertain.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1005\" data-end=\"1237\">For now, Topuria is set to face former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira on June 28 at UFC 317 in Las Vegas. This fight could serve as a litmus test to see if &#8220;El Matador&#8221; is ready to challenge the elite in the new weight class.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_59610\"  width=\"696\" height=\"391\"  data-origwidth=\"696\" data-origheight=\"391\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IgJRqHl-KG4?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1239\" data-end=\"1454\">Moicano, who faced Makhachev in January and lost by submission in the first round, still believes that Topuria has what it takes to conquer the Dagestani champion. Speaking on Ariel Helwani\u2019s show, Moicano stated:<\/p>\n<blockquote data-start=\"1455\" data-end=\"1779\">\n<p data-start=\"1457\" data-end=\"1779\">&#8220;I believe Ilia Topuria will beat Islam Makhachev. Knocking out Alexander Volkanovski is no small feat. Volkanovski was dominant in his last performance against a very dangerous fighter [Diego Lopes], and he looked like his old self. Add to that Topuria&#8217;s boxing, head movement, and wrestling\u2014he has the complete package.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1781\" data-end=\"2128\">This analysis is not without precedent. Earlier this year, Max Holloway moved up to lightweight and delivered a stunning knockout win over Justin Gaethje, only to return to featherweight and suffer a knockout loss at the hands of Topuria. This victory highlighted Topuria\u2019s versatility and his capacity to handle elite opponents in both divisions.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_40102\"  width=\"696\" height=\"391\"  data-origwidth=\"696\" data-origheight=\"391\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nZgFyia-Oso?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2130\" data-end=\"2401\">As for Moicano, he is set to face Beneil Dariush at UFC 317, looking to continue climbing the ranks. His belief in Topuria&#8217;s potential to disrupt the current order in the lightweight division adds to the growing anticipation surrounding the Spanish-Georgian\u2019s next steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Renato Moicano Drops a Bombshell: &#8220;Topuria Will Defeat Makhachev&#8221;\u2026 Is a New Era Approaching in the UFC? In a surprising statement, Brazilian fighter Renato Moicano predicted that Spanish-Georgian star Ilia Topuria would defeat Islam Makhachev if the two were to meet in the Octagon. Moicano\u2019s comment goes beyond a mere prediction\u2014it reflects a potential shift [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,86,21,91],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"category-mma-video","9":"category-ufc-news","10":"category-ufc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6033"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6033"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6034,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6033\/revisions\/6034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}