Khabib Nurmagomedov does not believe that Ilia Topuria is today the best lightweight in the UFC.
Earlier this year, Islam Makhachev left the title of 155 pounds to pursue glory in the Welterweight division.
Ilia Topuria spread Charles Oliveira malignant to become the new lightweight king in his absence at UFC 317 in June.
'El Matador', however, has not done enough to convince Khabib Nurmagomedov that he is the rightful heir to the throne of his teammate.
Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC
Khabib Nurmagomedov mentions the best lightweight of the UFC
Khabib Nurmagomedov was recently asked his thoughts about a potential title fight between Ilia Topuria and Arman Tsarukyan.
The Armenian star is at #1 on lightweight after compiling a 9-2 point in the Octagon.
In a just world he gets the next 155LB title shot. UFC CEO Dana White, however, is that Tsarukyan had to return to the fight after pulling himself back after 24 hours before he was intended to combat Islam Makhachev on UFC 311 in January.
Anyway, Nurmagomedov says that Tsarukyan will almost certainly deduct Topuria if they fight.
“I see Topuria having no chance,” the 29-0 Russian legend told Kamil Gadzhiyev.
“Arman fights too well on reach against strikers. He keeps the distance well, works better with his stairs. And now Arman has improved a lot. He has images that he can study and analyze. If they fought three years ago, he might not have been so careful. But now you can clearly see what dangers Topuria brings.
“I believe it is now the best lightweight Tsarukyan. Arman can bring people down, he has good elbows on the floor. Very good elbows. He can struggle, subject, take his back.
“I would say that it is 80% -20% in favor of Arman. His wrestling, his pressure, his physicality. It is all important. He is bigger with 10 centimeters, if I am not mistaken. He is heavier, and on fighting evening he will be the bigger man. And of course struggles a huge role, fights like this.
“We all know the level of wrestling that Holloway and Charles Oliveira had. It practically did not exist. They are strikers. They went ahead and were caught. But a man who [wrestles]Topuria has not confronted for that. Name at least one of his opponents who even uses 20% struggles. Not 50%, only 20%.
“It's an interesting fight. I know the UFC is careful. They don't want to throw him too quickly. Topuria is a bigger star than Arman at the moment. But if Arman gets a big win, where can they hide it? They can't.”
Khabib does not see Ilia Topuria getting a chance against Arman Tsarukyan 😳
“I now believe that the best is lightweight [Tsarukyan]… I would say it is 80% -20% in favor of Arman.
We all know the wrestling level that Holloway and Charles Oliveira had. It's practical … pic.twitter.com/lay29Wehin
– Championship Rounds (@champrds) 25 August 2025
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Fans think that Paddy Pimblett gets the next lightweight title shot
Paddy Pimblett is the dark horse of the lightweight division after he slowly collected a 7-0 UFC record.
In April, 'The Baddy' Michael Chandler brutalized on his way to a TKO victory on the third round in the biggest fight of his career at UFC 314.
Pimblett has a long -term feud with Topuria that dates from their infamous hotelbrawl in March 2022.
Despite the fact that only lightweight #9 was arranged, Pimblett was invited to the cage for an intense face-off with Topuria immediately after he won his second UFC belt in June.
Earlier this month, Pimblett received a boost of surprise ranking when he moved to #7 without throwing a single punch.
UFC fans believe that this is a sign that he will get the next crack in Topuria, but only time will learn whether Pimblett Tsarukyan and a couple can jump other lightweight contenders.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty images