Islam Makhachev asserts that he was fully prepared to face Ilia Topuria on June 14 at the White House event. The unified lightweight champion stated that he immediately accepted the proposed superfight, but external factors, for which he bears no responsibility, prevented its realization.
Currently, Topuria is set to face Justin Gaethje, the interim lightweight titleholder, in the main event of UFC Freedom 250.
Previously, conflicting accounts regarding the cancellation of this highly anticipated matchup between two two-division UFC champions emerged from Ilia Topuria, his manager, and Islam Makhachev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz. Makhachev has now come forward to present his perspective.
Islam Makhachev Explains the Real Cause of the White House Clash with Ilia Topuria Falling Through
In a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, the Russian fighter unequivocally denied any hand injury, contrary to reports from Dana White and claims by Topuria himself, which were cited as the reason the pound-for-pound king couldn’t accept a fight against “El Matador” on June 14.
Makhachev further stated that he possesses text messages to substantiate his claim of being injury-free and to debunk the circulating misinformation. Additionally, the 34-year-old alleged that Topuria requested “insane money” to accept the fight, which he believes may have led to the UFC’s refusal.
“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 first defense of his welterweight title in August, with indications pointing towards a matchup against Ian Machado Garry.
Meanwhile, Topuria remains focused on Makhachev. Following his lightweight title unification bout on June 14, “El Matador” intends to move up in weight to challenge and unseat the welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king.
