Islam Makhachev left the majority of his MMA peers singing his praises after yet another history-making win Saturday night at UFC 322. However, Ilia Topuria was not among them.
Makhachev became just the 11th UFC fighter ever to capture belts in two divisions with a dominant win over now-former welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena in UFC 322’s main event. In true vintage Makhachev fashion, the native Dagestani made it look easy, out-landing Della Maddalena 140 to 30 in total strikes and securing an astounding 19:10 of control time across the 25-minute bout.
In doing so, Makhachev also moved into a tie with Anderson Silva for the most consecutive wins in UFC history (16).
Yet despite this impressive performance, UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria remained unimpressed. Earlier this year, Topuria vacated his featherweight title to pursue a superfight with Makhachev—a fight that ultimately did not materialize.
Following Makhachev’s win, Topuria took to social media to share his thoughts:
“Jack needs an entire camp dedicated just to wrestling. What a disappointment of a champion. You should go to Georgia to learn something. Islam, you need something you can’t train: emotion. You’re the most boring thing in this game. Every day I’m more certain I put you to sleep.”
The potential matchup between Makhachev and Topuria remains one of the biggest fights available in the sport today. However, if Makhachev chooses to stay at 170 pounds, the weight jump may be too large for Topuria to make.
Meanwhile, the rest of Makhachev’s UFC peers were far more complimentary in their reactions to his dominance over Della Maddalena. (Spoiler alert: they showered him with praise.)
Stay tuned for more updates on this developing rivalry and the latest from the UFC world.
https://sports.yahoo.com/mma/breaking-news/article/what-a-disappointment-of-a-champion-ilia-topuria-blasts-islam-makhachev-after-ufc-322-other-fighters-react-070810841.html
