Khabib Nurmagomedov hasn’t made many comments about Ilia Topuria ever since Islam Makhachev decided to move up a class and fight in the welterweight division. But recently, he spoke about it once again regarding the discussion surrounding the outcome of a fight between Topuria and his protégé’s former rival, Arman Tsarukyan. And guess what? ‘The Eagle’ dismissed ‘El Matador’s chances against the Armenian star.

Not only that, but since Islam Makhachev moved to welterweight, Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that Arman Tsarukyan is the best 155-pound fighter on the entire roster. Well, such claims are always up for debate, and there was opposition to this statement. However, Khabib would be surprised to know that his own former teammate, Daniel Cormier, is not in agreement.

Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov have contrasting opinions on Arman Tsarukyan

There is absolutely no doubt that Arman Tsarukyan has grown as a fighter and is better now than he was when he fought Islam Makhachev. It was his debut fight in the UFC, and he gave the Dagestan native a run for his money. Daniel Cormier also believes ‘Ahalkalakets’ is perhaps the biggest challenge for Ilia Topuria. However, he’s not quite ready to call him the best fighter in the lightweight division.

“Has Tsarukyan gotten better? Absolutely. Do I believe Tsarukyan is the best and most competitive matchup for Ilia Topuria right now? Absolutely,”
Daniel Cormier stated on the Good Guy/Bad Guy show. “But I don’t know if I could say it as a definitive statement that he’s the best in the world or that. He’d just go and beat Ilia Topuria.”

‘DC’ further added that a fight between Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria won’t be a one-sided affair. Although the Armenian star can beat his Georgian-Spanish counterpart, he may not get the win that easily, according to Daniel Cormier. Since ‘El Matador’ has proved how dangerous he really is when he fought Charles Oliveira, who, in turn, gave Tsarukyan a hard time, maybe Khabib Nurmagomedov could be wrong in this aspect since he claims Topuria has no chance at all.

But why is Khabib Nurmagomedov downplaying the lightweight champion? While Daniel Cormier wasn’t sure, he believes maybe ‘The Eagle’ is not a big fan of the kind of personality Ilia Topuria is, given that Khabib leads more of a respectful, humble, and disciplined life.

“I think that Topuria is a special fighter. And I think that while Khabib was tipping his hat to the sport that we all love, wrestling, grappling,” the former UFC double champion added. “I don’t know that he has or the best feelings for Ilia in the way Ilia operates, right? He’s very brash, he’s very forward.”

Well, the only way to know how Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria will fare against each other is to pair them up and let them fight inside the Octagon. And guess what? This is exactly what the former lightweight champion wants to see as well.

Islam Makhachev claims Topuria vs Tsarukyan is the “most relevant fight”

Currently, Islam Makhachev occupies the #1 contender spot, but we all know that he’s fighting for a second belt next. So, the next fighter to him in the rankings is Arman Tsarkyan, who is the fighter that makes sense for Ilia Topuria to fight next, as per the Dagestan native. Makhachev mentioned how Tsarukyan was booked for a title fight at UFC 311 even though he pulled out at the last minute. The title shot is still due.

“Arman made weight for the last (title fight at UFC 317), he was the backup,” Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé stated during a recent press conference. “He should be next in the fight for the belt. This is the most relevant fight at the moment.” Meanwhile, Tsarukyan is now taking a different approach on his way to the title fight, which is by snubbing the chase for a Topuria fight, and instead, aiming for a title eliminator fight.

While we talk about Arman Tsarukyan and Ilia Topuria, there is a fight against Paddy Pimblett looming in the background. The champion has expressed his wish to fight ‘The Baddy’, but we’ll have to wait and see how things pan out in the coming months. Nevertheless, let us know your thoughts about Daniel Cormier and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s disagreement in the comments down below.