Makhachev accepts Topuria’s challenge at the International Fight Week in Las Vegas

The greatest fight in the history of Spanish martial arts (MMA) and one of the most expectations will generate worldwide is about to close. As ABC MMA has known exclusively, the UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, has verbally accepted his belt before the ex-champion of the weight of weight Pen ilia Topuria, despite having been denying this fight for this fight to the Hispanic-Georgian.

This newspaper announced in Primicia the Bombazo in the early hours of Wednesday: the Hispanic-Georgian will be fighting for the title of the lightweight in the UFC 317, which will be held within the framework of the International Fight Week of Las Vegas on June 28. The matter was to determine if it would be against the champion Daguestaní or against the contender Charles Oliveira for the title that would leave the Russian vacant, but it seems that the first option is what the US company is already working.

The matter has precipitated due to the urgency of the UFC with respect to its need to close a giant stellar combat, which was at the height of which it is presumed that it is the largest event of the season, the UFC 317, for being carried out during the so -called International Fight Week, a week in which there is the UFC carries out the induction of certain figures to its hall of fame and performs Enjoy your fans. In addition, tickets have been for sale for weeks, so both Dana White (CEO and President) and Hunter Campbell (Business Director) have had to move.

And, weeks ago, the UFC had an ace under the sleeve: face the middleweight champion, Dricus du plessis, against the superstar of the division, the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev, while letting the pieces be ordered in the light weight, but a lesion reported by du plessis threw on the ground that original plan, having to activate an alternative strategy, which passes through Makhachev and Topuria, without a doubt one of the most anticipated lawsuits of recent times.

The reality is that the intention of the Russian lightweight champion was to wait for May 10 to see what happened in the welter weight (one more division), where the Belal Muhammad monarch, Makhachev’s personal friend, defending his title against Jack Della Maddalena will be. In case of defeat of Belal, the Russian wanted to attack that title against the Australian, but the urgency of the UFC has disassembled, for the moment, that plan, having to take a step forward to save the International Fight Week.

As there are still no signed contracts, in case Makhachev finally decided not to sign the fight, the UFC would force him to leave the title vacant, going to play it Ilyia Topuria against Charles Oliveira, an option that cannot be ruled out until the aforementioned combat has been formalized.

When it seemed that it would be practically impossible to see, in the short term, Makhachev, the champion with the most defenses of history in the lightweight of the UFC, against Topuria, the man who knocked out Volkanovski and Holloway, everything has taken a spectacular script turn. This is the UFC and so are the MMA.

The Russian monarch did not see anything positive in exposing his legacy against the Hispanic-Georgian, since he pointed out that he was “a small champion”, coming from a lower weight division (the pen weight is 65.8 kilos and the light weight 70,3), and having already defended his title twice against Volkanovski, when he was champion of the pen. And his plans went on to avoid Topuria, who does not fall too much in grace.

The legend, in the Podcast of Joe Rogan, pointed with telescopic sight, in what has now seemed a premonition. «I don’t care if Islam decides that he doesn’t want to fight with me. I will sit until you have to fight with me. I’m here, you can’t keep avoiding, ”he said a few days ago. And so it has been. The number 1 pound per pound of the world will face number 3, in a lawsuit that will allow elucidating who is the most important face of the UFC. The legend wants to enlarge its legacy.