Ilia Topuria has called out Islam Makhachev for dodging a potential superfight, sparking a fiery social media feud between the two champions.
The UFC lightweight king is currently locked in to headline the historic UFC White House card on June 14, where he’ll square off with interim champ Justin Gaethje.
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Gaethje had originally been tipped to face Ilia Topuria in a title unification blockbuster, but the undefeated Spaniard has long had his sights set on an even bigger prize – a superfight with Makhachev.
The former lightweight champ vacated the belt last year to chase history, moving up to welterweight and successfully capturing a second UFC title from Aussie Jack Della Maddalena.
On Tuesday night, Topuria unloaded on Makhachev in a blunt online post, suggesting the Dagestani faked an injury to avoid fighting him.
“Once again, Islam comes up with an excuse,” Topuria wrote on X. “This time, it’s an injury.”
Dana White revealed at the post-fight press conference for UFC 326 that Makhachev had indeed initially been considered to compete on the White House card – but a hand injury ultimately ruled him out.
“When [the UFC] finally told me I would be on the White House card, they mentioned Islam and I didn’t hesitate for a second to accept the fight,” Topuria continued.
“Even though the fight hadn’t been officially confirmed yet, the White House card was going to be announced the next day.
“And when I woke, I found out that Islam had gotten injured. And then Justin Gaethje appeared.
“Once again, someone else who will pay for Islam’s escape.”
Topuria has made it very clear he wants a third UFC title – but first he’s ready to make a serious statement against Gaethje.
“Justin, see you at the White House,” Topuria wrote.
“I’m not someone who humiliates people. It will be quick. When you wake up, everything will already be over.”
Makhachev didn’t take long to fire back at Ilia Topuria.
“We both know who chickened out here,” Makhachev wrote on X.
“You can cover your cowardice with nasty tweets, but don’t worry, one day you will get what you asked for! And your fat ass manager don’t have to ask for billions to fight me, we’ll do it for free.”
A showdown between Makhachev and Topuria – the sport’s top two pound-for-pound stars – is widely viewed as the biggest fight the UFC could stage in 2026.
Featherweight kingpin Alev Volkanovski weighed in on the White House card announcement on Wednesday morning, saying he’d also heard whispers that Topuria was originally lined up to fight Makhachev.
“But how could you be mad with Ilia versus Gaethje?” he said on his YouTube channel.
“Gaethje is interim champ. Would it have been crazier seeing that two years ago? Probably…
“It’s going to be a tough one for Gaethje.”
Volkanovski added that if Topuria navigates through the likes of Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, and Makhachev, he could go down as one of the greatest ever.
“The good thing about Illia is that Ilia wants that [the hardest possible fights],” Volkanovski said.
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“He wants Islam. He wants to prove himself.
“Gaethje is still an exciting fight, though, you know that someone is getting knocked out.”