Arman Tsarukyan understands why Islam Makhachev doesn’t want to fight Ilia Topuria.
Topuria recently vacated his featherweight title and is rallying for a lightweight gold bid against Makhachev. However, Makhachev isn’t willing to fight “La Leyenda” immediately, as he claims he has little to gain from the matchup.
Makhachev has defended his title twice against two-time featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, who was once the No. 1 pound-for-pound UFC fighter. Regardless, many undermined those wins, saying Makhachev beat a smaller opponent. Hence, Makhachev doesn’t want to fight another featherweight in Topuria until the Georgian-Spaniard has proven himself at 155 pounds.