Dustin Poirier has chimed in on the raging question of who would win a bout between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria. In recent times, there have been significant rumors about Makhachev fighting Topuria. The possibility was initially teased by Ilia Topuria himself. Soon after Makhachev successfully defended his belt at UFC 311, Topuria tweeted with a stern message for the lightweight king. ‘El Matador’ claimed that he would easily knock out Makhachev.
Surprisingly, while many think getting the better of the Dagestani is not easy, Dustin Poirier thinks otherwise. He is of the opinion that Ilia Topuria does indeed have the power in his fists to shock the lightweight champion.
“I’ve never seen Topuria in person but if he can make 145… Dude, Islam’s a big guy. I think he’s going to be a lot bigger than Topuria. But that being said, Topuria is an assassin and I believe he can knock out anybody from 145 to 170 pounds,” said Poirier while interacting with ‘The Schmo.’
Surely, such a vote of confidence will do wonders for the Spaniard. However, not only Makhachev but Ilia Topuria seems to be high in confidence while assessing his chances against Alexander Volkanovski, too.
Ilia Topuria Wants To Submit Alexander Volkanovski
The entire UFC world was shocked when Alexander Volkanovski was knocked out by Ilia Topuria. However, many thought that to be a one-off incident and expected ‘Volk’ to come back strong. And while the possibility of a rematch is on the cards now, Topuria is not backing away from his attacking stance.
“I know what’s gonna happen. Maybe next time, instead of knocking him out I will submit him… to have different types of clips,” Topuria said via ‘MainEventTV’ recently.
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Ilia Topuria says the rematch with Alexander Volkanovski will be the same as the first fight:
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 5, 2025
“I know what’s gonna happen. Maybe next time, instead of knocking him out I will submit him… to have different types of clips.” 😭
🎥 @MainEventTV #UFC #MMApic.twitter.com/UCMJByzyKw
Thus, it is evident that ‘El Matador’ is fearing nobody at the moment. Now, it will be interesting to see who his next opponent is and how he performs in the upcoming bouts.
