Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria the obvious answer for UFC 317, says MMA analyst in eye-opening perspective: "This is a stop traffic main event"
Renowned MMA analysts Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell of Morning Kombat had a lengthy debate about why Islam Makhachev vs Ilia Topuria should be the main event of UFC 317 during International Fight Week in June.
With the Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall bout still up in the air and rumors of Dricus du Plessis pulling out of his fight with Khamzat Chimaev circulating, the much-anticipated Las Vegas fight card is currently in jeopardy.
To Luke Thomas, the formula for solving this problem is simple: pick a big name star on the pound-for-pound list, preferrably a champion, and then make him defend their title against an equally big name.
Campbell then interjected with Islam Makhachev vs Ilia Topuria. He played a clip of Topuria insisting that he'll only fight Makhachev at lightweight - no one else. The former UFC featherweight champ also claimed that he was "promised" the Makhachev fight next after he relinquished his 145-pound strap.
Campbell completed his argument by saying (16:23):
"Ilia [Topuria] versus Islam [Makhachev] is not a gimmick fight. It's the two best damn fighters in the world that happen to be in the same division at the same time. Put the two brands together. This is a stop-traffic main event! We criticize UFC for charging exorbitant ticket prices and bragging about the live gate records that they're setting. This is the fight you charge that much!"
Listen to the conversation here:
Brian Campbell criticizes Makhachev for allegedly refusing Topuria fight, Luke Thomas retorts
The current narrative as to why Islam Makhachev refuses to fight Ilia Topuria before the latter beats a top-five lightweight first is the fact that the Dagestani champion has had two straight title defenses against a featherweight champion already.
Makhachev's two fights in 2023 were both high-profile battles against two-time UFC featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, which the Russian won. After getting past 'The Great' twice, the UFC lightweight king defended his throne against Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano, two former 145-pound fighters as well.
On Islam Makhachev's alleged insistence to fight a natural 155-pound fighter next, Campbell said (23:13):
"Isn't the MO of Makhachev, and other hammers of his kind, that they're going to take on all comers?...Isn't this a bad look? To be so bold? Just in the same way we criticize Jon Jones for publicly talking his way out of the Aspinall fight in almost every interview he gives, right? ... Shouldn't we give that same criticism to Islam in this case?"
Luke Thomas retorted:
"Islam didn't sit active for years at a time and like, hold a title hostage. I mean, he's been much more active. So to me, it's not the same kind of thing."