A feud between UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria and lightweight champion Islam Makhachev appears to be brewing and Javier Mendez has spoken out about it.
Following his emphatic title defense against Max Holloway last October, Ilia Topuria accepted that he would likely defend his title in a rematch against Alexander Volkanovski.
However, the 27-year-old has since expressed his desire to move up to the lightweight division, alongside current champion Islam Makhachev.
Photo by David Benito/WireImage
Javier Mendez explains Ilia Topuria's lightweight plan
But first Makhachev will defend his 155-pound belt against Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 on Jan. 19 in an extremely high-level rematch.
With that, 'El Matador' surprisingly revealed that he would like to fight Charles Oliveira as he waits for the climax of Makhachev versus Tsarukyan.
Topuria's head coach, Jorge Climent, recently claimed that Topuria is done at featherweight, as he weighs as much as 180 pounds and could potentially give up his title to move up in weight. Despite this, Topuria stated that he is not giving up on the belt regardless of his lightweight plans.
The feud between Makhachev and Topuria started earlier this year when Topuria claimed he would send the Russian to hospital if they fought each other in the street.
Makhachev head coach Javier Mendez has spoken out about Topuria's plan to move up to lightweight, stating that he is not interested in that fight.
“I love that he's motivated, he's definitely a champion and he's proving it and he's gaining weight. I was also told his coach said he's 187 pounds, which is great,” Mendez said in an interview with Submission Radio.
“I don't think Islam has ever been so difficult. Islam if he's in camp and he starts camp in two months, Islam weighs about 179 pounds, 178 pounds… (Topuria) because he weighs 187 pounds that means that, and I don't think he's fat is, he's quite a wide guy, he's a bit like Alex (Volkanovski) just sturdier in a way,” he continued.
Javier Mendez is not interested in a possible fight against Ilia Topuria
Despite potentially being one of the biggest fights in UFC history, Mendez isn't keen on it for his student Makhachev as he believes Topuria needs to prove himself even more.
“The guy is a great fighter, he has the best boxing hands in the business in my opinion, the best technical stuff anyway, and he can do a lot of damage as he puts on weight, but I don't know what's going to happen. I'm not interested in that fight at all right now,” Mendez said.
Makhachev has previously expressed his own plan to move up in weight and when Leon Edwards captured the welterweight title, the Russian was excited about a match with 'Rocky'.
Despite this, Makhachev's friend and recently new teammate, Belal Muhammad, became a 170-pound champion, putting Makhachev's dream on hold for the time being.
While Mendez isn't too keen on a fight against the Spanish featherweight champion, depending on Makhachev's result against Tsarukyan, the champion will likely have options.
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