Michael Bisping is pumped up for Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev.
Though no official announcements have been made, Topuria made waves on social media when he announced that his fight camp had officially begun for a rumored lightweight title clash at UFC 317 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
However, many are questioning exactly who Topuria will be facing. In all likelihood, he’ll challenge reigning 155-pound champion Islam Makhachiev, though there are rumbling that the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ could vacate his belt in pursuit of welterweight gold, similar to what Topuria did earlier this year with the featherweight crown.
‘The Count’ is confident it’ll be Topuria vs. Makhachev
Addressing all the rumors on his YouTube channel, Bisping believes wholeheartedly that it’ll be Makhachev that ‘El Matador’ faces on June 28, alongside a few other marquee matchups.
“Ilia, who’s started camp—who’s it going to be? It’s going to be Islam Makhachev,” Bisping said. “I agree with all of you guys, okay? I’d be very shocked if that’s not the matchup that we see. And I’m telling you, there’s a lot of people out there talking, saying, ‘Oh, look at this, UFC is struggling for International Fight Week.’
Well, we’ve just spoke about it, I’ve done a few videos—they might have Tom Aspinall versus Jon Jones, or maybe Ciryl Gane, right? According to Chael Sonnen, they now potentially have Ilia versus Islam Makhachev, which is just a sensational blockbuster, and there’s some other huge matchups out there as well.
Until Dana White and Co. make an official announcement, speculation is sure to run rampant among fight fans, but whether it’s Islam Makhachev, Charles Oliveira, or someone entirely different, it sounds like Ilia Topuria will have an opportunity to etch his name in the UFC history books.
