Islam Makhachev asserts that he was ready and willing to face Ilia Topuria on June 14th at the White House. The lightweight champion states he immediately accepted the superfight offer, but other factors prevented it from materializing, and he is not to blame.
Ilia Topuria, the undisputed lightweight champion, is now scheduled to face Justin Gaethje, the current two-time interim 155-pound titleholder, in the main event of UFC Freedom 250.
Previously, various explanations circulated from Ilia Topuria, his manager, and Islam Makhachev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, regarding why the highly anticipated bout between these two UFC champions did not take place. Makhachev has now shared his perspective on the situation.
Islam Makhachev Clarifies the Real Reason Behind the White House Fight’s Collapse with Ilia Topuria
In a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, the Russian fighter refuted claims of a hand injury, which Dana White and Topuria had cited as the reason the pound-for-pound king couldn’t accept a fight against “El Matador” on June 14th. Makhachev stated that he possesses text messages as proof that he was never injured and dismissed the circulating false narratives.
Furthermore, the 34-year-old fighter alleged that Topuria requested an exorbitant amount of money to fight him, which he believes may have led the UFC to decline the bout.
“I don’t have any injuries… I can show you the chats with my manager. He called me: ‘The White House event, a fight against Topuria’. And I said: ‘Let’s go’, right away. But then the next day [Ali] called me and said it’s cancelled. He told me that [Topuria] asked for some insane money, and that was it. [Ilia] claims that I pulled out because of the hand injury. It had nothing to do with the hand. I said ‘yes’ right away, without asking for more money and stuff like that.”
Islam Makhachev is reportedly slated to make his welterweight title defense in August, with reports suggesting a potential matchup against Ian Machado Garry.
Meanwhile, Topuria remains focused on Makhachev. Following his lightweight title unification bout on June 14th, “El Matador” intends to move up to challenge and unseat the welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king.
