Ilia Topuria could have easily gotten his super-fight with Islam Makhachev. But for that, he needed to do one crucial thing that he missed out on. Recently, the situation regarding who Topuria will face next has taken the internet by storm. Trying to get a match with Makhachev, the former UFC featherweight champion, has repeatedly been shut down by the lightweight champion. But according to UFC veteran Chael Sonnen, it would have been easier for Topuria if he fought for the BMF title.
Ilia Topuria faced Max Holloway for the featherweight title. However, Holloway is also the BMF champion. Unfortunately, Holloway’s title was not on the line. And this, according to Sonnen, was a major miss. In his recent video, the ‘Bad Guy’ opined that if Topuria had been the BMF champion now, Makhachev would have had fewer reasons to deny the Spaniard a title shot.
“You’re having a hard time getting Ilia in there with Islam, and Islam’s entire situation or his entire argument is I’ve done this not just once, I’ve done this twice. It’s everything to gain for you, and I have nothing when the reality is this should be the undisputed champion vs. the BMF champion. That’s what this should be,” said Sonnen.
The former UFC fighter also stated that this was not the first time the promotion has done the mistake. Previously too, there have been instances where a BMF champion fought without his title on the line. Meanwhile, this was not the only theory Chael Sonnen came up with about Topuria. He also had a surprising take on his move up to the lightweight division.
Chael Sonnen Hints At Ilia Topuria Being Stripped Of His Title
Sonnen recently proposed a wild theory about Ilia Topuria. The UFC veteran said that Topuria might have been stripped of his title rather than vacating it. In order to justify his claims, Sonnen mentioned that the fans only believed what the UFC told them. But looking at how things have panned out recently, it does look like the Spaniard was forced to vacate his title.
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“They’re trying to insist to us that Ilia Topuria vacated the title. I’m willing to play along, but they only vacated the title because they say he vacated the title. If you see the actions of what actually happened, he was stripped,” said Sonnen.
There are no definitive proofs justifying Sonnen’s words. But one thing is for sure—the situation with Ilia Topuria is looking quite complicated. It remains to be seen how things pan out in the future.
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