Makhachev doesn’t hesitate to give credit where it’s
due.
Ilia
Topuria will look to defend his lightweight title against
Justin
Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House. While
Makhachev believes Gaethje still has a chance, he thinks “The
Highlight” is a little past his prime. Makhachev believes Topuria
will rule atop the lightweight division in the near future.
“Topuria is the new generation,” Makhachev told UFC on TNT Sports.
“I still believe Gaethje can do something. But he’s a little bit
old right now. He’s a good fighter, legend. He showed us many very
good fights. But now I think it’s Topuria’s time for
lightweight.”
What Might Have Been
A matchup between Topuria (17-0) and Makhachev (28-1) is arguably
the most anticipated matchup in recent history. Topuria was the
featherweight champion when he started calling out Makhachev, who
was the lightweight champion then. However, Makhachev didn’t want
to give Topuria a title shot until “El Matador” had proven himself
at lightweight. Makhachev eventually moved up to welterweight and
dethroned Jack
Della Maddalena to win the title.
Meanwhile, Topuria moved up and knocked out Charles
Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight title. Rumors suggest
that a matchup between the two was originally being planned for the
main event of the UFC White House card on June 14. However, Dana
White has refuted those rumors. While there was some trash talk
initially exchanged, Topuria recently said that he doesn’t think
Makhachev is ducking him. Topuria believes the UFC doesn’t want to
make the matchup.
Islam
Makhachev believes it’s Ilia
Topuria’s time to reign at Lightweight heading into the
Justin
Gaethje fight at the White House 🏆#Freedom250
|
#UFCWhiteHouse | Stream TNT Sports on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/VcAiz0kEsr— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt)
May 31, 2026