Topuria To Appear On Joe Rogan

Ilia Topuria will make an appearance on the The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Topuria recently vacated his featherweight belt to move up to lightweight in the hope of becoming a two-weight champion. He is undefeated with a 16-0 record, having stopped Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in his last two fights. Those wins ended Volk’s four-year reign as champion, although the Australian reclaimed the belt after beating Diego Lopes.

Meanwhile, Topuria gave Holloway his first stoppage loss. As speculation continues about Topuria’s next opponent, fans may get an insight from Joe Rogan. Topuria is chasing a fight with the UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev. However, it is not clear if he will get that fight next since he does not have any fights at lightweight. The following picture shows Topuria and Rogan together, as an episode is in the pipeline.

Topuria On Rogan

Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov has explained why Islam has no interest in fighting Topuria.

Makhachev, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, is searching for an opponent after submitting Renato Moicano in his last fight at UFC 311 to retain his belt. Islam has been linked with a move up or a fight against Topuria next. If he moves up, he could have a bout against the UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad. However, since they are very close friends, that fight is unlikely as Khabib is also not behind it.

Alternatively, Islam could move up to middleweight. He has been linked with a fight against the UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus Du Plessis. However, that would be a risky fight for his first one at the weight class. Makhachev would also face the same criticism that Khabib is giving Topuria, saying he has done nothing to prove himself at the weight class.

Topuria’s Next Move

Ilia has not had a fight at lightweight. Meanwhile, there are other contenders in the division. Paddy Pimblett, Charles Oliveira, and Arman Tsarukyan are some of the names linked with a fight against Islam. Topuria felt Khabib was afraid that he could beat Islam. 

"Topuria is a good fighter at 145 but we haven’t seen him at 155. I believe Arman is more competitive for Islam than Topuria. “I don’t know what kind of agreements Topuria and the UFC had, but from Islam’s side, he already gave two title shots to 145 champions. Both times Islam won.

"Now a third time — OK, let’s imagine Topuria moves up and gets a title shot right away, Islam beats him, then Topuria fights again, he loses again. So basically [a] nobody at 155.Islam beat a guy who was a nobody at 155. Because of that, in terms of legacy for Islam, for his resume, I understand Islam’s risks, too. That’s why Islam says let him fight, let him become a real contender," Khabib said 

"Khabib knows I’m the one to take the belt from Islam. Only reason he doesn’t want Islam to fight me," Tuporia stated

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