Islam Makhachev has long been every lightweight contender’s nightmare ever since he squeezed Charles Oliveira with an arm triangle choke at UFC 280 to claim the gold. After that, Alexander Volkanovski made the Dagestani look a little human at UFC 284, only to get wrecked by a head kick at UFC 294. Dustin Poirier gave it his all at UFC 302 but again came up short. Renato Moicano? Not even close! However, since Ilia Topuria has moved up to the shark-infested waters of lightweight, he’s getting some solid backing to pull off what other fighters couldn’t.

After vacating his featherweight championship, ‘La Leyenda’ has never missed an opportunity to shoot his verbal arrows towards Makhachev. The Georgian Spaniard speaks with a grin of confidence whenever he talks about fighting the current champ as if he has already figured out something that others have failed to do.

After the Dagestani triumphed at UFC 311, the former 145lbs posted on X, “Islam, if I want to, I can finish you. If I want to, I can knock you out.” If that wasn’t enough, at the PBD podcast, Topuria audaciously said, “What’s your favorite submission?’ Whatever, I don’t know, D’Arce choke. I’m going to submit you with that. I take him close to Khabib. I will submit him closer to Khabib.”

With International Fight Week approaching, Topuria has made things even spicier! For the unversed, the Spanish-Georgian has announced that he would be competing on June 28th at UFC 317. Reportedly, the reigning lightweight champ has also kicked off his camp, hopefully for a fight with each other. Even before an official announcement of the superfight, the strengths and weaknesses are being picked apart, 

And now, Makhachev’s original opponent for UFC 311, Arman Tsarukyan, believes the former 145lbs kingpin’s two particular skills could be a real red flag for the current champ. And what are they? His short stature and knockout power! In an interview with Yaroslav Stepanov of Sport 24 after his grappling bout against Team Khabib’s Makkasharip Zaynukov at Karate Combat 54 in Dubai, Tsarukyan said:

“He’s short. It will be hard for Islam to shoot for his legs. He’s a hard hitter with good balance, and he can knock out Islam any moment. If he lands, he’ll drop Islam. But, the question is, if Islam will fight in his range, that I don’t think so. I think he will keep his distance and strike from outside. And, when Topuria gets close, he will take him down or clinch him.”

‘Ahalkalakets’ gave a pretty solid breakdown of the potential showdown. He didn’t just highlight why Topuria could be dangerous, he also laid out what Makhachev needs to do to steer clear of that danger. As this fight continues to shape up into a blockbuster, we all know how deadly ‘La Leyenda’ can be in the close boxing exchanges. If he can knock out Max Holloway, anything that meets his fists has the potential to melt.  

Also, let’s not forget how hard Alexander Volkanovski was to hold down for Makhachev at UFC 284. So, that factor might come into play here as well. So, who knows? ‘La Layenda’ might be leaving the T-Mobile Arena with a second belt. However, the opposite can also happen. Islam Makhachev definitely can retain his belt, however, Beneil Dariush thinks the current champion won’t be getting the credit he deserves if he defeats Topuia. 

Beneil Dariush believes Islam Makhachev will not get the proper credit if he defeats Ilia Topuria

The Dagestani camp has always stood by the belief that Islam Makhachev fighting Ilia Topuria is a lose-lose situation for them. Still, there’s a good chance this long-awaited clash goes down. It’s a fight built on wild possibilities, and just like ‘La Leyenda’ pulling off a win, the reigning lightweight champ retaining his belt is also on the table, which is a scenario many believe is more likely. But Beneil Dariush threw a little jab here, mostly aimed at the fans, claiming they still wouldn’t give the 155lbs kingpin his due even if he defends the title again.

In an interview with Inside Fighting, Dariush said, “There’s truth to that, for sure. It’s not like Islam is going to be the underdog in this fight. If you look at Ilia’s fights, he has been taken down. He can be taken down, it’s not impossible. So I don’t know, I would definitely lean towards Makhachev. And it’s one of those things where the MMA community can be very toxic. And this is one of those cases where it’s like, ‘Ah, you gotta fight this guy. It’s like, bro, the champion gets to fight whoever he wants, kind of.”

Dariush makes a compelling point! If Makhachev ends up defeating Topuria in their still-unannounced showdown, he deserves full respect from MMA fans across the globe. The Dagestani steamroller is already carving out a legendary path. And if he adds another former champ to his resume, that second title shot should be next for him. 

That being said, do you think that Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev’s fight will happen at the UFC 317 card? If it does happen, who do you think should be the favorite? Please comment below.