Islam Makhachev responds to Ilia Topuria who jumps to him in the UFC rangers, teases the date for the next fight

Islam Makhachev has bigger things in his head than where he is in the pound-for-pound ranks of the UFC.

The now former UFC light weight champion was displaced with his number 1 ranking after Ilia Topuria scored a mean knockout about Charles Oliveira on UFC 317 to claim the empty title on 155 pounds. That victory helped Topuria to become a dichotomy champion after previously won and defense of the featherweight Kroon.

Although Makhachev has been cemented for some time, he is not too worried about Topuria who takes over him as the number 1 pound-for-pound hunter because he understands how this sport works.

“Well, it’s marketing,” Makhachev told UFC Erazia in Abu Dhabi. “They do it on purpose [hype] On this fight that people were already interested in. This means that they do the right thing. We will fight for the first place. ‘

Van Makhachev was expected to defend the lightweight title against Topuria, his friend and frequent training partner Belal Muhammad successfully defended his welterweight in May. Eventually Muhammad suffered a loss for the current champion Jack della Maddalena, who opened the door for Makhachev to finally go to 170 pounds, so that he could also earn the chance to become a second division champion.

While a fight against Topuria could still happen on the road, Makhachev has set his sights on Della Maddalena and now he just waits for a few final details to be solved, so that the matchup becomes official.

“Well, we already have 90 percent of the agreement,” said Makhachev about the fight. “Probably in November.”

November is the annual date for the UFC to land in New York City with an event in the historic Madison Square Garden Arena. Rumors have used to weeks that Makhachev vs. Della Maddalena possible that event could lead and now the Dagestan resident has confirmed so much.

Nothing has been completed yet, but it is expected that the Title Fight of Welterweight will take place before the end of 2025 and there are only two pay-per-view events that still need headliners. One is the UFC card in New York City with a final event planned in December, probably in Las Vegas.