There is still hope for Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev.
UFC fans have missed a number of huge fights this year, with a heavyweight title Unification Bout between Jones and Tom Aspinall as one of them.
Despite guarantees from UFC CEO Dana White, the Superfight never happened, and the promotion eventually continued, as with Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev with lightweight.
To become a two -part champion, Makhacheve took a distance from his lightweight title shortly after friend Belal Muhammad lost the Welterweight title to Jack della Maddalena on UFC 315.
Had Muhammad retained, the super fight between Makhachev and newly crowned lightweight champion Topuria would probably have fallen on UFC 317 in June.
Although both stars could go their own way and possibly never fight each other, a former lightweight competition calls the UFC not to repeat history.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Al Iaquinta says that Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev must be done, unlike Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Five times without success, Khabib Nurmagomedov versus Tony Ferguson is largely considered the largest UFC fight to never happen.
During their fifth and final attempt, Nurmagomedov and Ferguson each had a 12-field line (in UFC) on their way to their lightweight title fight on UFC 249 before Nurmagomedov withdrew due to travel restrictions from the Covid-19-Pandemie.
Topuria and Makhachev currently have a combined 31-Fight Win-Streak and keep the top two places in the pound-for-pound ranks of the UFC.
Retired UFC hunter and broker Al IAquinta are sold that this is the fight that the UFC must make, not another Khabib vs. Tony want to see.
“They have to fight that with Islam, right?” Iaquinta told bloody elbow.
“That is the modern Tony Ferguson versus Khabib,” Iaquinta said about Topuria versus Makhachev.
“It is as if you can never imagine what will happen. What would happen if those two fought? You can't even imagine, what happens when Islam and Ilia come in together? What will happen? There are so many different X factors that each of them have.
🚨 Ilia Topuria is the new pound-for-pound king in the UFC, who surpassed the Islam Makhachev who had the place for more than 600 days 🤯 pic.twitter.com/J3HVeKufb9
– Championship Rounds (@champrds) July 1, 2025
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“Islam has it struggling, but they say that Ilia also has struggling. He doesn't really use it, but if you see it training, it seems that he has it. Ilia's stand-up is crazy. He has that knockout power.
“He beats everyone … The boys who are not eliminated, he is being eliminated,” said the former top-five candidate about Topuria.
“That is a crazy fight. They have to make that. I have to see that fight,” Iaquinta added.
Al Iaquinta says that Ilia is Topuria 'Conor McGregor 2.0'
There are various similarities between Topuria and the biggest superstar that the sport has ever seen in Conor McGregor.
Just like McGregor, Topuria went a perfect 7-0 in the featherweight division with two title profits before he recorded the lightweight title with a knockout.
In contrast to McGregor, however, Topuria defended his featherweight title against Max Holloway before he went to 155 pounds and took Charles Oliveira on UFC 317.
Al Iaquinta says he is a fan of Topuria, even if he took a few pages from the McGregor Playbook.
“He is the total package,” Iaquinta said about Topuria.
“I think he speaks well. He is an inspiration for the younger generation. He is a positive role model and I think he immediately got his head to where he is like a family man.
“I see him having a long government, a positive government and yes, I think he is the next evolution.
“I think he is like Conor 2.0,” Iaquinta added.
Ilia Topuria became a UFC Double Champ at almost the same age that McGregor was when he did it. 😳
He does not defeat the Conor 2.0 feases 🥶 pic.twitter.com/03ohiwduxc
– Blockbet 🔋 (@blockbetgg) 6 July 2025
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“He took Conor's blueprint and then just like a building into a notch …
'But Conor was unique in its kind – but [Topuria] Certainly, he does it in his own way. He does it his own way, but he takes a lot from the Conor book, “Iaquinta said about the lightweight champion.