“Islam, if I want to, I can finish you. If I want to, I can knock you out. I’ll make it look easy. See you soon.” That’s what Ilia Topuria posted on X right after watching Islam Makhachev cruise past Renato Moicano in the UFC 311 main event. The Georgian Spaniard’s confidence? Through the roof! ‘La Leyenda’ has been chasing the 155lbs champion for a long time and looking for a fight as soon as possible, and is itching for that second belt. After the rumored Dricus Du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev fight at UFC 317 at International Fight Week found itself on the chopping block owing to an injury to the reigning champ, rumors are surrounding the main event to get replaced with a possible lightweight superfight.
These whispers are on the back of Khabib Nurmagomedov posting a cryptic Instagram story of a bull, signifying Topuria’s previous ‘El Matador’ nickname. Moreover, this 155lbs clash is perhaps the second biggest possible matchup after Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall that the UFC can put together. And what better place for it to go down than at the biggest UFC PPV of the year? And even before the fight’s been finalized, the predictions and breakdowns are already flying around. It’s a game of inches. One small mistake, and the other guy can flip the whole fight. On paper, Makhachev does look like the more well-rounded fighter. The lightweight god-king has got elite grappling, good striking, and the calm of a champ who’s been there before.
But one of his former AKA teammates, Josh Thomson, thinks that same style could be a little risky against someone like Ilia Topuria. Thompson took to his Weighing In podcast, with veteran ref, ‘Big’ John McCarthy, and said, “What concerns me, though, is this. I’m picking this apart from his last couple of fights, when you get inside that boxing range. Not with Ilia Topuria, what concerns me is with Islam. Every time someone goes into that boxing range, he’s able to grab them. He grabs them with that Thai plum. That’s been scaring me, it’s been scaring me for the longest time, his chin is in the air, Topuria being shorter and stature, the punches come over the top right under the chin mark.”
He added, “I just look at where Topuria’s at. And he fights really well in the phone booth. He fights really well in that small space, whether it’s body-to-body or over the top. If you grab onto that Thai plum and in the body-body position and you start dropping the elbows and you leave your chin in the air, it’s easy to get knocked out. It’s easy to get caught and clipped. With that power, Topuria has what scares me. Now in the boxing range, he can surely catch Islam. I mean, that can be done with anybody. Topuria keeps very low with his hands. He is very tight with his defense, no wasted movements, he’s fantastic, man!”
That’s a pretty solid observation from the Strikeforce vet. For those who might not be familiar, the Thai plum is a clinch position in Muay Thai where a fighter controls the opponent’s neck, usually to land knees right up the middle or attacks with forearms. A good example? Look no further than Makhachev’s scrap with Dustin Poirier at UFC 302. From the second round on, Makhachev started using that clinch over and over, busted ‘The Diamond’s nose wide open with one of those knees, too. Now, you might be wondering, why is a world-class wrestler using Muay Thai clinch work? Well, freestyle wrestling has a few similar tie-ups.
The kicker is, like every technique, the Thai Plum isn’t bulletproof. There’s often a split-second window where things can get sloppy. Either they miss the grip entirely, or they just don’t reach the neck in time. All it takes is one mistimed entry, and there’s your shot to counter with a right hand. And if the opponent’s shorter? That window gets even wider. This is where Topuria fits that bill perfectly, because ‘La Leyenda’ is noticeably shorter (5’7”) than the champ (5’10”).
We’ve all seen what happens when he connects clean. Makhachev was even caught with feints followed by a right hand in the first Volkanovski fight. So when Josh Thomson raises concerns about those tendencies against Topuria is legitimate. Does that clear the hypothesis that size doesn’t always win fights, cause if not, Chael Sonnen can help!
Chael Sonnen fires back at the argument that Ilia Topuria is too small for Islam Makhachev
One of the most talked-about narratives heading into this fight? Ilia Topuria’s size. He’s clearly the smaller guy, and because of that, some folks are already writing him off. The argument goes: he’s too small—he has no chance inside the Octagon. Even Mateusz Gamrot echoed that thought in a recent MMA Junkie interview. But then, Chael Sonnen stepped in, with his signature sharp take, and dismantled the whole thing. ‘The Bad Guy’ believes this size-based argument has zero historical weight behind it.
In a clip of greatness from his YouTube channel, Sonnen said, “There’s no size difference between Ilia and Islam. It’s a one 145 vs 155. Do 145 and 155 pounders not know? You weigh the same thing. 10 pounds spread in the worst cases. Are you aware that Muhammad Ali, when he was the heavyweight champion of the world, weighed a 198lbs? Georges St-Pierre vs. Michael Bisping comes to mind. The lighter of the two: Georges St-Pierre: Winner. I don’t know how Ilia would do against Islam. But, I’m blown away by the analysis that he would have no chance against Islam.”
So, what do you think will Islam Makhachev’s size and all-around skillset give him the edge? Or could Josh Thomson be onto something with his take that Ilia Topuria’s power and timing might just lead to a shocking knockout if they clash at International Fight Week? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
The post Josh Thomson ‘Concerned’ About Islam Makhachev’s Red Flag That Ilia Topuria Could Expose in Rumored UFC 317 Fight appeared first on EssentiallySports.
