Usman Nurmagomedov is not ready to treat Ilia Topuria as the lightweight king after one fight at 155 pounds.
Topuria is unbeaten, holds the UFC lightweight title, and is already booked against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. Nurmagomedov’s pushback is about the division itself. Before he got to Topuria, the PFL lightweight champion said he would not put himself at the top while Islam Makhachev was still technically tied to lightweight.
“I don’t want to put myself [at top] in lightweight because Islam is still in lightweight. He’s not moving. After he [moves], then we’ll see.”
Once Topuria’s name came up, Nurmagomedov was much sharper.
“Come on, Ilia Topuria, how he can be lightweight No. 1 in the world? He cannot be. He did only one fight. I have 19 fights in lightweight. I beat former champions. I beat champions and uh I think my resume it’s like better than him. He have only 15 or 14, 13, how how many fight?”
Topuria’s total came up next, and Nurmagomedov pointed to his own finishing record.
“Yeah. But I have 14 finish in my career.”
Watch the full MMA Fighting interview clip below:
Nurmagomedov Says His Next Win Lets Him Claim The Lightweight Top Spot
Nurmagomedov is the unbeaten PFL lightweight champion. His verified pro record is 21-0 with one no contest, with eight knockouts, seven submissions, and six decision wins. He previously held Bellator lightweight gold and now carries PFL’s lightweight belt.
Topuria’s verified record is 17-0, with seven knockouts, eight submissions, and two decisions. He is a former UFC featherweight champion and current UFC lightweight champion, with knockout wins over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira.
Nurmagomedov also backed Makhachev’s move to welterweight.
“I think he’s going to be champion in welterweight. Because he has everything. His skills, I think is better than Maddalena because Maddalena has only boxing. But Islam, if he takes you down, he’s going to hold you the whole round whereas Belal [Muhammad] has a problem with that. He let Maddalena up. He let him up, he tried again.”
“When Islam holds you, it’s done. We’ll see. Of course, it’s not going to be easy for Islam. Because this is a different weight but mentally, Islam is a very strong guy.”
Nurmagomedov then praised Makhachev’s lightweight run before circling back to his own claim at 155 pounds.
“He’s a pound-for-pound champion, lightweight champion and he beat a lot of records in lightweight. Now he’s going to go for a second belt and soon we’re going to see, Inshallah.”
On the lightweight No. 1 question after Makhachev’s move to welterweight, Nurmagomedov brought it back to his own next fight.
“After I finish this guy, I will call myself the best lightweight.”
