Islam Makhachev believes Ilia Topuria is clearly ducking the most legitimate title contender.
After Makhachev vacated his lightweight title, Topuria won the belt by knocking out former champ Charles Oliveira this past June. While No.1 contender Arman Tsarukyan was sitting cageside, Topuria chose to call out Paddy Pimblett. Tsarukyan has since been rallying for a title fight against Topuria, who insists that “Ahalkalakets” must pass another test for a title shot. Topuria even threatened to vacate his belt if the UFC forces him to fight Tsarukyan before the Russian goes through another fight.