Islam Makhachev believes Ilia Topuria will become a UFC champion again, but is unsure of one thing.

Topuria, after dominating the featherweight division, laid hands on lightweight gold after a brutal KO win against Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June 2025.

While he was expected to successfully defend the title against his next opponent, Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250, Topuria suffered a devastating setback. ‘The Highlight’ handed Topuria a brutal beatdown, eventually forcing a TKO via corner stoppage at the end of round 4. It also marked ‘El Matador’s first loss in his MMA career, even giving rise to doubts about whether he would ever be the same again.

Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje face off in a lightweight title bout during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House on June 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

On being asked about Topuria in a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson on his YouTube channel, Islam Makhachev sounded sure that the 29-year-old would bounce back. However, he was unsure of one thing:

Sure, he will be back, because he’s still young and he has time. I hope he will come back and show a good performance…Ilia [Topuria] is a good fighter. He has good punch, he has good wrestling and good skills in the ground. If he focuses, maybe he’ll be champion again…But this fight [against Gaethje] changed his life, we don’t know which way.

Check out Islam Makhachev’s comments below:

Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev looked like it would headline UFC Freedom 250 at one point

Ever since plans of Ilia Topuria moving up to lightweight began emerging, talks of a potential fight against Islam Makhachev were rife. And once Topuria clinched 155lbs gold, it looked like it was only a matter of time before the two would face off.

Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria never came to fruition [Images via Islam Makhachev on Instagram and @Topuriailia on X]

In early 2026, there were rumors that the two stars would fight at UFC Freedom 250. It only appeared to grow stronger, only to come crashing down after the UFC announced that Justin Gaethje would be his opponent and not Makhachev.

To date, there is no solid reason as to why the fight never came to fruition, with the respective camps of both fighters giving their own versions.

Gerard Crispin

Gerard Crispin is an editor and writer with expertise across MMA, Football, Tennis, Cricket, NBA and F1. He has published over 3500 articles in Combat Sports, across multiple websites, viz. Sportskeeda, FanSided MMA, MediaReferee, FirstSportz and PFSN. Crispin currently covers UFC for LowKickMMA.