A veteran MMA analyst recently offered his thoughts on Ilia Topuria refusing to defend his title against Arman Tsarukyan. The individual asserted that regardless of Topuria’s remarks, the reigning lightweight champion will ultimately obey the UFC's decision.For context, during a livestream with the Nelk Boys last month, Topuria stated that he would be willing to vacate his 155-pound belt if Tsarukyan refuses to compete for the No. 1 contender spot. His remark sparked a reaction from 'Ahalkalakets,' who accused the Georgian-Spaniard of ducking him. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostIn a recent YouTube video, Luke Thomas gave his take on the matter, suggesting that Topuria has no say in choosing his potential opponents and will do exactly what the UFC wants:''These guys being like, 'Oh, I'll never fight so and so', like they're boxers or something. Like it's just very funny to me that they think this is the leverage that they have. And I realize that Topuria probably now certainly has more leverage than he ever has...you see this all the time. This is what they tell the public...they almost never follow through with it because it's just for public consumption. It's not really how any of this works by and large.''He added:''Like this idea like, 'oh, I'm just not going to fight a guy' in his 20s, who's a very, very top contender, who's a genuine threat to for you to hold on to this belt. Like, oh, he's too unreliable. I'm never going to give this guy a shot. Yeah, you are. If the UFC want you to, you will...first of all, a lot of fighters and Ilia in particular says a lot of bullsh*t right?''Check out Luke Thomas' comments below (7:30):Ex-UFC champion believes Ilia Topuria is ducking Arman TsarukyanFormer UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping recently posted a YouTube video discussing Ilia Topuria's remarks about declining a title fight with Arman Tsarukyan.Bisping stated that Topuria must face Tsarukyan, who is the rightful No. 1 contender for the lightweight gold:''Is Ilia Topuria pulling a Jon Jones? Because Arman Tsarukyan is a real threat to anybody, he is a tremendous fighter...The man’s an absolute monster. Ilia Topuria said if the UFC made him fight Arman Tsarukyan, he would vacate the belt... If you’re the champion, you’re supposed to fight the No. 1 guy, simple as that. Arman Tsarukyan is ranked No. 1. Whether he likes it, Ilia likes, anyone likes it. If you want to do it on a merit-based system, Arman Tsarukyan is the guy.''Check out Michael Bisping's comments below (1:28):