Ilia Topuria Calls Out Khabib Nurmagomedov, Movsar Evloev Responds

Ilia Topuria currently doesn’t appear to be interested in defending his featherweight strap against anyone from his division, much to the ire of surging contender Movsar Evloev.

Oozing confidence leading up to his featherweight title shot against Alexander Volkanovski, Topuria backed up his words with action, dethroning “The Great” via a Round 2 knockout at UFC 298 earlier this month. “El Matador” had previously made clear his unwillingness to defend his strap against any of the perennial featherweight contenders: Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez or Brian Ortega.

Topuria issued a callout to Conor McGregor in his post-fight interview and more recently, targeted retired lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“I would be happy to enter the Octagon with Khabib Nurmagomedov,” Topuria said. “He had an undefeated record at 29-0 and he had an attractive record for me, then also history. He is a worthy and honorable champion for me.”

Topuria also mocked Islam Makhachev by posting a clip of the reigning lightweight champ’s lone career loss, which came in his UFC debut against Adriano Martins.

Ilia Toouria taunts Islam Makhachev on Instagram 👀pic.twitter.com/jm78TMB6Iz

— MMA Mania (@mmamania) February 26, 2024

While Evloev is the only other undefeated featherweight in the rankings, Topuria previously dismissed the Russian as being unworthy of a title shot yet. However, Topuria’s latest callouts did not sit well with Evloev, who r responded online.

“Conor, Islam, Khabib, Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Messi… Who else do you want to fight rather than the only undefeated fighter in your division?” Evloev wrote.

While both Evloev and Topuria are undefeated, “El Matador” has scored 13 of his 15 career wins via stoppage, while the Russian hasn’t finished any of his eight UFC wins.