UFC president Dana White announced some significant fight news on social media on Tuesday, May 13, which had an impact on both the lightweight and welterweight divisions.
The outcome of the welterweight title bout between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena was expected to have a significant impact on the lightweight division going into the UFC’s most recent pay-per-view, UFC 315. If Muhammad prevailed, Islam Makhachev was probably going to defend his lightweight title against Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 317, and if Della Maddalena prevailed, the Russian would advance to compete for welterweight gold.
Topuria is furious because Makhachev has now surrendered his lightweight belt in order to compete for the welterweight title later this year, after the Australian victory. Now because he isn’t getting it, “El Matador,” who has been demanding a battle against Makhachev for months, is going all out against the Russian and even called him a “hypocrite” in a recent media scrum. Makhachev has responded angrily to this.
Islam Makhachev Slams “Big Mouth” Ilia Topuria
Topuria called Makhachev a “hypocrite” which has prompted a fiery response out of the Russian
After it was revealed that Islam Makhachev will be moving to 170 pounds to compete against Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC welterweight title later this year, the rivalry and animosity between the Russian and Ilia Topuria intensified even more. The Spaniard has been lobbying to fight Makhachev for months, but now that the chance to do so has been lost, at least for the time being, Makhachev’s choice to move up to the welterweight class has not gone over well with him.
You can view the translated clip of “El Matador” labelling the lightweight champion a “hypocrite” below. Earlier today, at a media scrum, Topuria viciously attacked Makhachev and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, for not pursuing the fight against him.
“I’ve never seen a bigger hypocrite than him. He claimed that he didn’t want to give me the chance because I was the underdog, but now he is the hypocrite seeking the same opportunity that I was.
Unsurprisingly, Makhachev responded to Topuria’s remarks quite quickly. He used X, the former name for Twitter, to respond angrily, calling “El Matador” a “big mouth” and a “nobody.”
In addition to asserting that Topuria fled from the leading featherweight contenders, Makhachev appeared to hint that he might be persuaded to drop to 155 pounds and fight him if the Spaniard defeats Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317 to become the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.
The professional mixed martial arts records of Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev (as of 15/05/25)
Makhachev, Islam
Topuria Ilia
Battles
28
16
Gains
27
16
Losses
One
0
xz
