Merab Dvalishvili issues bold prediction for potential Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev fight: "It's gonna be a tough fight for Ilia"

Merab Dvalishvili recently shared his thoughts on a potential Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev fight and dropped a bold prediction. Dvalishvili stated that he believes Topuria will beat Makhachev and explained why.

Topuria and Makhachev are two of the most dominant fighters in the UFC today and are ranked #1 and #2 on the promotion's pound-for-pound list, respectively. While many expected them to share the octagon after Topuria expressed his desire to compete at lightweight, Belal Muhammad losing the welterweight title to Jack Della Maddalena opened the door for Makhachev to move up a weight class.

Topuria then captured the vacant lightweight championship by knocking out Charles Oliveira in the opening round at UFC 317 in June. Meanwhile, Makhachev is set to challenge Della Maddalena for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 322 in November. While it's unlikely the two men will throw down anytime soon, many are hoping for the super fight to materialize sometime down the line.

If it does happen, Dvalishvili is firmly backing Topuria to come out on top. In an interview with the NELK Boys, the bantamweight king predicted Topuria to finish Makhachev and said:

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"I hope it's gonna happen. It's gonna be a tough fight for Ilia for sure. It won't be easy, but Ilia has a big chance... Ilia can either make him shoot for wrestling, which he will stop, or Ilia will go forward, and Islam will have to strike with him. We all know how Ilia fights and how dangerous he is and [how much] knockout power he has... I believe he can finish Islam Makhachev."

When Merab Dvalishvili explained why he didn't spar with Ilia Topuria anymore

Last month, Merab Dvalishvili explained why he stopped sparring with Ilia Topuria. The UFC bantamweight champion revealed that Topuria's reputation as a hard-hitter was well earned and that he always looked forward to their sparring sessions ending.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani (via @ChampRDS on X), Dvalishvili outlined how he was dropped by Topuria during training and said:

"I can't spar with him anymore. He hits hard. He dropped me two times from body shots. Thank God my head is fine. And every time I finished sparring with him, I was like, 'Thank God, it's over.'"

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Edited by Nishant Zende.