Ilia Topuria Gunning for Islam Makhachev Match in 2025

Topuria (15-0) has recently been exchanging words with Makhachev (26-1) and his team. The feud started with a Q&A session where Topuria said he would get the better of Makhachev in a street fight but would rather do it inside the Octagon to avoid paying the Dagestani’s medical bills. Makhachev’s teammate Usman Nurmagomedov fired back at Topuria, who took a dig the Bellator MMA lightweight champ’s recent drug testing failure. Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Tagir Ulanbekov from the Dagestani crew also chimed in to defend their teammates.

In an interview with Match TV, Makhachev warned Topuria about crossing personal boundaries, while admitting that the Georgian-Spaniard hasn’t crossed any yet. Meanwhile, Topuria is slated to make his first title defense against Max Holloway in the main event at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Makhachev advised “El Matador” to defend his throne at least once before plotting a double champ bid.

“If Topuria continues in the same spirit, he may play himself out,” Makhachev said. “Something may happen. So far I have not seen anyone cross any personal boundaries, so far nothing like that has happened. He needs to focus on his weight class and defending his belt at least once.”

Topuria responded quickly, urging Makhachev to leave his teammates out of the fray. Topuria called out the UFC P4P king to settle the feud like adults inside the Octagon sometime next year on X.

“I don't need to cross lines but it seems like the kids that hang out with you will try to cross a line they can't come back from. Let's leave the kids out of it and settle it like adults inside the Octagon [in] 2025.”

Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to win the featherweight title at UFC 298 in February, recording his fifth finish in seven UFC wins. Meanwhile, Makhachev is coming off his third successful title defense against Dustin Poirier via fifth-round submission at UFC 303 in June. The Dagestani standout had since been recovering from a hand injury sustained against Poirier, who gave him his toughest test since his lone pro loss against Adriano Martins in his UFC debut in 2015.

Reference: https://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Ilia-Topuria-Gunning-for-Islam-Makhachev-Match-in-2025-195169