Ali Abdelaziz explains why Islam Makhachev didn't face Ilia Topuria before moving up to welterweight, gets honest about title vacation

Islam Makhachev's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, explains why the former lightweight champion did not fight Ilia Topuria before moving up to welterweight. Claiming the Dagestani has "nothing to gain" by beating 'El Matador,' the 47-year-old shared his perspective on the matter.

Jack Della Maddalena dethroning Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 has cleared the way for Makhachev to move up to the 170-pound division. Although fans had expected a superfight between him and Topuria at International Fight Week, Dana White officially confirmed Makhachev's welterweight aspirations.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, journalist Mike Bohn questioned Abdelaziz on why Makhachev vacated his belt without fighting the former featherweight champion. To which, he had this to say:

"If [Islam Makhachev] had to fight Ilia [Topuria], no problem, he would've fought Ilia. But when Islam goes out there and finishes Ilia, people are gonna say, 'he beat a 45-pounder.' He has nothing to gain. If Belal [Muhammad] won, he would've fought Ilia, 100 percent. Islam will fight this year."

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He continued:

"Regardless if [Jack Della] Maddalena is injured, not injured, hurt, this is the word that was given to me by Hunter [Campvbell], by Dana [White], by everybody. If Jack is not ready, Islam will fight for the belt. Not the interim belt. For a real UFC belt."

Check out Ali Abdelaziz's comments below:

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Aljamain Sterling reacts to Islam Makhachev's immediate callout to Jack Della Maddalena after UFC 315 win

After Jack Della Maddalena was announced the new welterweight champion at UFC 315, Islam Makhachev immediately called him out on X. Although the former lightweight champion encouraged Belal Muhammad at first, he did not waste time in revealing his welterweight aspirations publicly.

Regarding this, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling shared his perspective. On his YouTube channel, he had this to say:

"Islam Makhachev, coming out of the woodworks, putting out his tweets, telling him to keep his belts warm. I have a couple issues with this. There's nothing wrong with the aspirations, but Belal [Muhammad] and Islam are supposed to be boys. It's just the way the tweet read. It made it come off like they weren't really friends like that, and maybe they're not."

Check out Aljamain Sterling's comments below (7:35):

About the author

Sunil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in visual communication. He started his professional career in 2023 and has previously worked with FirstSportz and Levitate Studios, among other organizations.

Sunil was drawn to MMA by Conor McGregor, especially the Irishman’s crossover boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. His favorite fighter is Jorge Masvidal for his wild and unorthodox approach.

Surprisingly, ‘The Notorious’ and ‘Gamebred’ do not find a place in his Mt. Rushmore, which includes Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Alex Pereira, Daniel Cormier, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He feels ONE Championship’s Rodtang Jitmuangnon has the ability to succeed in the UFC due to his power.

Sunil is of the opinion that the UFC is not doing enough to prevent eye pokes and does not mind soccer kicks in MMA.

In his free time, he likes to watch anime and films in general. He’s also a boxing historian, having gotten into the sport watching videos of fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.

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Edited by Sunil Krishnan