"I think if Ilia does this, he will lose everything. But he has the power to fight at lightweight, and I don't think it's going to be a good fight for Gaethje if they fight. Gaethje's fight [against Pimblett] was so good, but he missed a lot of punches. That's not a good idea with Ilia. If [Ilia] touches [Justin], he'll knock him out, but with Islam, it's not going to happen. Islam is so huge and on another level."
"Topuria (17-0) was the featherweight champion when he started calling for a double champ bid against then-lightweight champion Makhachev. However, Makhachev (28-1) wasn't willing to grant Topuria a title shot until "El Matador" had been tested at lightweight. Makhachev eventually vacated the title and moved up to welterweight, where he dominantly dethroned Jack Della Maddalena to win the title this past November."
Movsar Evloev considers Ilia Topuria moving up to welterweight to challenge Islam Makhachev a risky and unwise decision that could cost Topuria everything. Topuria is scheduled to face interim champion Justin Gaethje in a lightweight title unifier after winning the vacant lightweight belt by knocking out Charles Oliveira. Evloev praised Gaethje's interim win over Paddy Pimblett but warned that Gaethje missed punches and would be vulnerable to Topuria's power. Makhachev vacated the lightweight title, moved up to welterweight, and defeated Jack Della Maddalena to claim the welterweight championship. Topuria previously held the featherweight title with a 17-0 record.
Read at Sherdog
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