Why is Islam Makhachev so "afraid" of Illia?

[NoSmilez]

I don't think he is afraid. The fight doesn't really do much. It's another 145 contender. It makes more sense for him to scalp a 170er for a belt.

 

[Meathead Jock]

I mean are there really people who think Islam is scared of him? He just doesn't deserve the title shot right now.

I'd like to see Jean Silva fight Volk right now but Silva doesn't deserve the fight and either does Ilia. Arman should get it.

Although I get the feeling he is bumping up a weight class if Belal loses.

 

[Deleted member 110072]

I do suspect he knows it maybe the most dangerous fight for him at the moment.

Not to say I would clearly pick Topuria but I think a big KO is the most likely way Islam loses.

 

[Aurelian]

Ilia is the biggest cash fight Islam can take. I hope Ilia keeps effectively calling them pussies.

 

[Aurelian]

Ilia's not entitled to a titleshot with 1 defense some of you guys need to hop off the bandwagon and use your head

He's #3 P4P. He's not some ordinary FW. He just KO'd Volk and Max and Islam knows Ilia will find his chin and murder him.

 

[mmacrisis]

I get he held the belt in another weight class but there are others who have won fights in the division who deserve a shot. Let Illia win 1 or 2 at 155 then he should get a shot. For all we know he fights someone and gets crushed.

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

He's #3 P4P. He's not some ordinary FW. He just KO'd Volk and Max and Islam knows Ilia will find his chin and murder him.

he's a champion that didn't clear his weight class asking for an immediate title shot in a division he has 1 win in(against a bum), Islam wants the manlet to earn his shot

 

[Aurelian]

he's a champion that didn't clear his weight class asking for an immediate title shot in a division he has 1 win in(against a bum), Islam wants the manlet to earn his shot

 

[Aurelian]

he's a champion that didn't clear his weight class asking for an immediate title shot in a division he has 1 win in(against a bum), Islam wants the manlet to earn his shot

lol nah fuck that. Ilia has better odds to beat Islam than Arman did on betting sites. If Arman was worthy Ilia is too. Everybody knows he's Islams biggest threat.

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

lol nah fuck that. Ilia has better odds to beat Islam than Arman did on betting sites. If Arman was worthy Ilia is too. Everybody knows he's Islams biggest threat.

there's a difference between how he would do against Islam and whether or not he deserves a shot, Arman deserves a shot since he beat charles, Ilia is a big threat but he didn't earn anything

 

[Aurelian]

there's a difference between how he would do against Islam and whether or not he deserves a shot, Arman deserves a shot since he beat charles, Ilia is a big threat but he didn't earn anything

Yeah the fuck he has. What are you talking about? He just KO'd 2 All time greats back to back. Islam is running scared as fuck.

 

[contrail]

Your timeline is a bit off. McGregor moved up when Rafael Dos Anjos was the champion and they were signed to fight. RDA pulled out due to injury.

It wasn't some conspiracy to cherry pick Eddie Alvarez and get the title on McGregor. No one had any idea Alvarez would be champion.

It was still an immediate title shot which should never have happened. I never said Eddie was cherry picked, but I did forget RDA was champ when Conor "moved up", so fair point there I guess. Had it been RDA or Eddie it was still terrible for the sport.

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

Yeah the fuck he has. What are you talking about? He just KO'd 2 All time greats back to back. Islam is running scared as fuck.

how many ranked wins at 155 does he have? Did he clear his division? He doesn't deserve a shot without fighting a contender, Arman deserves it more

 

[Aurelian]

how many ranked wins at 155 does he have? Did he clear his division? He doesn't deserve a shot without fighting a contender, Arman deserves it more

Max is ranked #5 and he just KO'd him. Don't act like that doesn't count for anything. Max has never been KO'd before he fought Ilia. Islams wins over Volk are good but Ilias isn't? Stop the bullshit. Ilia would be favored over anyone at LW right now except Islam.

 

[contrail]

Ilia wouldn't be a walk in the park unlike most of Islam's fights, and Islam and his camp know it.

Volk 1 was a walk in the park? Poirier fighting like a man possessed with nothing to lose hitting switches & reversals?

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

Max is ranked #5 and he just KO'd him. Don't act like that doesn't count for anything. Max has never been KO'd before he fought Ilia. Islams wins over Volk are good but Ilias isn't? Stop the bullshit. Ilia would be favored over anyone at LW right now except Islam.

It's not hard to understand, in order to earn a shot at a weight class you either have to clear your division which volk did(before he fought Islam) or beat a #1 contender, Ilia did neither. Beating max at 145 doesn't count for anything, if he beat him at 155 then it would mean something. That's how weight classes work

 

[Aurelian]

It's not hard to understand, in order to earn a shot at a weight class you either have to clear your division which volk did(before he fought Islam) or beat a #1 contender, Ilia did neither. Beating max at 145 doesn't count for anything, if he beat him at 155 then it would mean something. That's how weight classes work

Ilia's earned it. He's Islam's biggest cash fight he can possibly get right now. Everybody wants to see the fight. Literally everybody except scared Islam fans want to see the fight. Keep running.

 

[Luffy]

Ilia's not entitled to a titleshot with 1 defense some of you guys need to hop off the bandwagon and use your head

That's why Islam can never be compared to Jon Jones. Anyone who says Khabib or Islam are ahead JJ in overall best, are morons. Makhachev defended his title 4x and is avoiding someone who he thinks is dangerous. It'd be like if JJ said no to Vitor Belfort on his 5th title fight, a Vitor who was on more testosterone than Chael was when facing Silva, a Vitor who hadn't fought in UFC since 2005 and was coming off two huge impressive wins, one vs Anthony Johnson in a catch weight, in the beginning of the first round. No fights at LHW, no ranking at LHW, a short notice fight since Dan Hooker got injured... JJ took the fight while he was looking at Vitor's abs like "wtf is this guy on"... And it was risky indeed, as Vitor got a tight arm bar from guard. JJ showed huge mental toughness to not only resist and roll out of it, but to keep on fighting with a partially torn ligament and defeat Vitor with an Americana, like, a payback for Vitor almost having him earlier.

Vitor then settled at middleweight and got 3 quick brutal KO wins vs Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson... It was just to blatant he was on steroids though that the damage Bisping got from that was one of the reasons UFC hired the USADA... And since then, Vitor Belfort was never the same and went on a 2 wins 4 losses streak vs less dangerous fighters than the ones he finished. That's what a real champion does. If ppl call JJ a coward for saying he'd vacate the belt after defeating Miocic, all while JJ defended his belt 15x vs 3 generation of fighters... And Makhachev is the "mentality of a true fighter" while already showing fear of losing against Topuria in his 4th defense... That's when you know how fans are a joke in regards to how little they know what they think they "know".

 

[Sean Chowdhury]

That's why Islam can never be compared to Jon Jones. Anyone who says Khabib or Islam are ahead JJ in overall best, are morons. Makhachev defended his title 4x and is avoiding someone who he thinks is dangerous. It'd be like if JJ said no to Vitor Belfort on his 5th title fight, a Vitor who was on more testosterone than Chael was when facing Silva, a Vitor who hadn't fought in UFC since 2005 and was coming off two huge impressive wins, one vs Anthony Johnson in a catch weight, in the beginning of the first round. No fights at LHW, no ranking at LHW, a short notice fight since Dan Hooker got injured... JJ took the fight while he was looking at Vitor's abs like "wtf is this guy on"... And it was risky indeed, as Vitor got a tight arm bar from guard. JJ showed huge mental toughness to not only resist and roll out of it, but to keep on fighting with a partially torn ligament and defeat Vitor with an Americana, like, a payback for Vitor almost having him earlier.

Vitor then settled at middleweight and got 3 quick brutal KO wins vs Bisping, Luke Rockhold and Dan Henderson... It was just to blatant he was on steroids though that the damage Bisping got from that was one of the reasons UFC hired the USADA... And since then, Vitor Belfort was never the same and went on a 2 wins 4 losses streak vs less dangerous fighters than the ones he finished. That's what a real champion does. If ppl call JJ a coward for saying he'd vacate the belt after defeating Miocic, all while JJ defended his belt 15x vs 3 generation of fighters... And Makhachev is the "mentality of a true fighter" while already showing fear of losing against Topuria in his 4th defense... That's when you know how fans are a joke in regards to how little they know what they think they "know".

Jon Jones avoided the dominick reyes rematch and ran from ngannou and now tom, if you call Islam a duck then what is Jon? An omega duck?

 

[nostradumbass]

TS is retarded. Lol at "Umar in his first or 2nd UFC fight went straight to fight Merab". Umar was 6-0 in the UFC and had just beaten the #2. For reference, Topuria only had 5 fights at FW before getting his title shot, with his best win being 39 year old Josh Emmett coming off a loss. He has 1 defense and now thinks he should jump straight to the front of the line in another division without fighting a single contender.

They already said Topuria can beat any contender, get himself ranked and they'd be happy to take the fight. Why is Topuria scared of literally every single contender in the division? Islam's been fighting for 15 years and only has a few fights left, so they aren't going to waste them on fights that will be instantly written off as "picking on FWs" when Islam is the one who's actually defended his title and earned a chance for a 2nd title.

When Islam was the one who wanted to move up to fight Leon Scott for the WW title(which we all know now he would have won), why was that "he only has 1 defense, he's ducking LW contenders, he shouldn't be allowed to move up until he has several more defenses and fights WW contenders first", but now suddenly it's "1 defense is plenty, give Topuria an instant title shot so we can dismiss it as 'picking on FWs' again after Islam ragdolls him"?