When Ilia Topuria made the jump to 155 lbs and then vacated his featherweight title, it was with one thing in mind. He wanted to be the next challenger for Islam Makhachev‘s lightweight title. But following Justin Gaethje’s recent win over Rafael Fiziev, Makachev’s team sees Gaethje as the “perfect matchup,” with the Dagestani clear about being “tired of giving chances to small guys.” La Leyenda has accused the defending champion of ducking him, while Makhachev has maintained that he needs to earn his way to a title shot. But as it turns out, it is not Makhachev who is calling the shots.

Former double champion, Henry Cejudo, who’s close to Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team, gave an interesting scoop when it came to Islam Makhachev’s refusal to fight Ilia Topuria. ‘Triple C’ claimed that it’s not the lightweight champion who’s hesitant to fight it’s ‘The Eagle’ who’s apparently ‘blocking’ the fight. The reason behind it? Well, Nurmagomedov, pretty much like other lightweight contenders, is not sold on the fact that Topuria has made his case for a title shot.

“I remember talking to Khabib, and Khabib said this: ‘It’s not fair for Ilia to skip the line and go after the title shot with Islam because that’s all Islam’s been doing he gave Volkanovski two title shots,’” Cejudo told journalist Mike Bohn on April 4. “I don’t even think it’s gonna be Islam’s choice. I think Khabib’s gonna step in and be like, ‘He needs to fight the number one contender.’ If Ilia does beat the number one contender, then sure. I personally think Islam will fight anybody, anytime, anywhere, but I think the person more likely playing bad cop is Khabib Nurmagomedov.” But this is where a former heavyweight fighter decided to step in and remind Makhachev and Khabib that there’s one thing they need to take into account.

Brendan Schaub claimed that Ilia Topuria, with a sound mind, would never give up his featherweight title if there was no incentive to move to the 155-pound weight class. Hence, he believes that the common understanding between the Georgian-Spanish star and Dana White is that a possible title fight awaits him in the lightweight division, whether Makhachev remains the champ or not. This could be true because Topuria had also claimed, after dropping the 145lbs belt, that the UFC ‘promised’ him a championship scrap.

“If you think Topuria is leaving 145 [pounds] to go up to ’55 and lose out on PPV points, you’re dumb… There’s no way his team would allow him to do that. It’s the fight business… Guarantee you the UFC was like. ‘All right. If you go up, we guarantee you a title shot,'” Brendan Schaub on his self-titled YouTube show on April 4. “Makhachev can say whatever he wants. He doesn’t call the shots. I know he’s the champ, [but] it doesn’t matter. If Makhachev refuses to fight Topuria, that means Makhachev is just going up to 170, but Topuria’s fight is going to be for the belt.”

Schaub further stressed the PPV points issue, for which flyweight great Demetrious Johnson once fought during his tenure in the UFC. And why wouldn’t he? The fighters get a share of the overall share of revenue from PPV buys after all. And given how big of a star Ilia Topuria is, losing PPV points could see him lose millions.

“Whether Makhachev goes up, so it is for the vacant belt, but either way, he’s [Topuria] either fighting Makhachev for the belt, or he’s fighting for the vacant belt. Period. There’s no way he’d just leave ’45 and abandon the PPV points, which is impossible to get… you’re talking a 7-figure pay cut, just to go up to ’55… He’s not that dumb,” the former UFC fighter added.

Islam Makhachev, now the UFC’s longest-reigning champion, broke the record for most lightweight title defenses with his win over Renato Moicano at UFC 311. However, two of those defenses were against featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski—a point critics raise. Makhachev has no interest in facing another featherweight and maintains that Ilia Topuria must first beat a lightweight to earn a title shot. But there is another possibility for Makhachev and Topuria.

If Topuria is promised a lightweight title match, it doesn’t necessarily have to be against Makhachev. The Dagestani fighter harbors ambitions to compete for the welterweight title. As such, he would be required to move up to 170 lbs and will likely have to relinquish his current title. According to Spanish newspaper ABC, Makhchev will reportedly await the outcome of the fight between welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and top contender Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315, before deciding his next move.

In case, he goes ahead with it, it will open the door for Topuria’s desired title match, albeit against a different opponent. Meanwhile, there have been discussions about other potential contenders for Islam Makhachev’s lightweight title. UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier also chimed in on the conversation, and his pick won’t be too surprising for the UFC fans.

Daniel Cormier picks Islam Makhachev’s next opponent, but it’s not Ilia Topuria

Yes, Daniel Cormier‘s analysis doesn’t have Ilia Topuria fighting Islam Makhachev for the belt, even though the soon-to-be former featherweight champion has claimed otherwise. ‘DC’ pick for the Dagestan native’s fifth title defense is former BMF champion, Justin Gaethje. The former dual-weight champion claimed that, given how popular ‘The Highlight’ is among the fans, he’s going to be an excellent addition to Makhachev’s resume. In fact, he has urged the lightweight champion to push for a fight against Gaethje.

“I honestly believe that’s who is going to fight for the belt. I believe it’s going to be Gaethje. If I’m team Makhachev, I’m asking for Justin Gaethje because that’s a big-name fight,” Daniel Cormier stated in a video on his YouTube channel. “It’s the guy that carries a lot of name recognition. I think that’s going to be the fight if I’m being honest with you.” There’s no doubt that a Makhachev vs. Justin Gaethje would be a banger of a clash, but could that end up with Dana White breaking his alleged promise to Ilia Topuria? That remains to be seen.

Dana White could introduce an interim title like he has for Tom Aspinall to keep his alleged word to Ilia Topuria. That could be a possibility, but we’ll be getting all our answers in the days or months to come. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.