Makhachev eyes super fight against Topuria

It looks like Islam Makhachev hasn’t given up his 155-pound crown yet, as he is already aiming for a super fight against Ilia Topuria.

The pound-for-pound number one fighter is set to move up to the welterweight category later this year to challenge champion Jake Della Maddalena.

The welterweight bout is expected to take place at Madison Square Garden in New York at UFC 322.

Following that, the Dagestani fighter is open to take on the newly crowned lightweight champion, Topuria to reclaim his title.

Topuria had racked off back-to-back knockout wins over featherweight legends Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway and was looking to become a UFC double champion. He then knocked out Charles Oliveira to win Makhachev’s vacant lightweight belt.

During a recent interview, Makhachev finally added some fuel to the super fight with the Spaniard.

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“There’s some intrigue with Topuria,“ said Makhachev when asked who is next after Della Maddalena. “I’m also interested in that fight. Maybe we can make some kind of super fight. Or, as I said, we’ll see about the weight.”

This may be music to the ears of fight fans, but Makhachev might be putting the cart before the horse.

Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad for the UFC welterweight title to extend his unbeaten UFC record to 8-0.

Makhachev could very well cough it up against JDM later this year and forever put an end to the super fight talks.

Meanwhile, Topuria is also eyeing a comeback in the octagon. He suffered a back injury just before his fight against Makhachev earlier this year.

Commenting on his potential title bout against Topuria, he said that he needs to fight before confronting the champion.

“(Topuria) wants to come back in January or February,” Tsarukyan told Adam Zubayraev. “And I haven’t fought in a long time.

“So I think I’ll need to fight in October or November. And I talked to the boss yesterday. They said maybe they will set up a fight with someone.

“In Abu Dhabi or in Qatar…maybe Gaethje, maybe (Dan) Hooker, maybe Paddy,” Tsarukyan added, pointing to the Scouser as his preferred opponent.