Ilia Topuria still has one eye on the opponent that many fans wanted to see him stand for the lightweight title.
Instead of seeing fans one of the biggest fights of the year, Islam Makhachev left his title to proceed to the Welterweight division.
After the main event of UFC 315, where Jack della Maddalena Belal Muhammad has sprinkled to become the new champion on 170 pounds, the lightweight division went through a number of major changes.
With Makhachev leaves, Topuria will be confronted this weekend opposite Charles Oliveira for the empty belt on UFC 317 with 'El Matador' who wants to become a double UFC champion.
Topuria still hopes to be confronted with Makhachev in the future, but in the meantime the task can be made to prevent the Pound-for-Pond Koning from binding the record for the longest profit streak in the history of UFC on the shoulders of the new Australia champion.
Ilia Topuria emphasizes the importance of Jack della Maddalena with the help of body shots to discourage Islam Makhachev
During the UFC 317 Fight Week, Ilia Topuria appeared on Australia's main event to talk about his upcoming matchup with Charles Oliveira.
With 'El Matador' who tried to chase Islam Makhachev before the champion moved to Welterweight, the conversation eventually focused on the next Russian.
Topuria will have spent some time thinking about how he would beat Makhachev when, or if, eventually cross their paths and with this he could send some advice to Jack della Maddalena.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Many fans believe that Della Maddalena has a much better chance to beat the former lightweight champion after viewing his display against Belal Muhammad.
With Mohammed who was known for his constant pressure and wrestling attack, the Aussie was well prepared for this and was able to defend 6 of 9 Takedown attempts.
Topuria passed on only one advice to Della Maddalena and his team, but it can be an essential because he emphasized the importance of focusing the body of Makhachev.
“The advice, he has to work the straight body recordings because that removes the intentions of the Takedown. If he works with the straight body shots, he will stop his intentions of the Takedowns and he does great work. I like how he fights.”
You have to go back to 2019 to find an opponent who did not take Islam Makhachev
Although Islam Makhachev Alexander Volkanovski did not have taken their rematch, which is not surprising, given that he stopped him in just over three minutes, their first meeting saw the Russian Safe 4 of 9 securing.
The last opponent of Makhachev that he had not brought down was Davi Ramos, although he had still contracted control time for almost five minutes after he had dropped his opponent before he won a unanimous decision.
Just like their approach to fighting Belal Muhammad, the team of Jack della Maddalena will have to accept that they will probably hit the ground at some point.
The key, as Ilia Topuria suggested, is a deterrent to prevent Makhachev from dictating where the fight takes place by threatening with Takedowns whenever he wants.