Renato Moicano thinks 'real deal' Ilia Topuria would beat Islam Makhachev
Renato Moicano thinks 'real deal' Ilia Topuria would beat Islam Makhachev
Renato Moicano liked Ilia Topuria's chances of dethroning Islam Makhachev.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) vacated his UFC featherweight title in hopes of challenging Makhachev for the lightweight belt. However, with Makhachev relinquishing his own belt for a move up to welterweight, the fight won't happen next. Instead, Topuria meets Charles Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) for the vacant 155-pound belt in the UFC 317 main event June 28 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Despite coming off a quick submission loss to Makhachev at UFC 311 in January, Moicano (20-6-1 MMA, 12-6 UFC) thinks Topuria would take out Makhachev.
"Right now I think Ilia Topuria would beat Islam Makhachev," Moicano said on "The Ariel Helwani Show." "We know it's very hard to knock Volkanovski out, how good Volkanovski showed up in his past performance against a very dangerous guy (Lopes). Volkanovski looked in his prime again, he did five rounds.
"And Max Holloway just went to the lightweight division in the beginning of last year, knocked out one of the most dangerous guys (Gaethje) in the division, and then got back to '45 and got knocked out by Topuria. So, that shows that Topuria is the real deal, and I think with his grappling and the way he moves his head and his boxing, I think he would impose a lot of trouble to Islam Makhachev."
Moicano has been rebooked against Beneil Dariush (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6-1 UFC) at UFC 317 – his original opponent for UFC 311 before getting the call to replace Arman Tsarukyan against Makhachev in the main event.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
📺 Monday: Libertadores, Sudamericana draws, women's team
Libertadores and South American Cup 12h - Draw for the round of 16 - ESPN, Disney+ (Standard) and Youtube/SBT Sports and Live on OneFootball Brazilian Championship - Series B 19h00 - Chapecoense x Amazonas - ESPN and Disney+ (Standard) Advertisement 21h00 - Paysandu x Criciúma - Disney+ (Premium) Brazilian Championship - Series C 19h30 - Ponte Preta x Ypiranga - Our Football+ and DAZN 19h30 - São Bernardo x CSA - Our Football and Youtube/Our Football Friendlies - Women 20h00 - Brazil x Japan - SporTV Brazilian Championship - Series D 20h00 - Marcílio Dias x São Luiz - Youtube/FCF TV This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here. 📸 Miguel Schincariol - 2025 Getty Images
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Watch: UFC fighter Khabib refuses to shake hands with Kate Scott over ‘Muslim beliefs'
Credit: CBS Sports Golazo / Paramount+ CBS presenter Kate Scott apologised live on air after UFC Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov refused to shake her hand during their Champions League final coverage. As the team of Scott, known as Kate Abdo before marriage, Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and Theirry Henry were providing post-match punditry on Paris Saint-Germain's 5-0 victory in Munich they were joined by the former fighter and streamer IShowSpeed live on air. Advertisement Nurmagomedov, who famously beat Conor McGregor in 2018, shook the hand of every member of the panel before awkwardly rejecting the outstretched hand of Scott. The 36-year-old clarified his position to Scott who then apologised for her attempt on air, by saying: 'I apologise, thank you so much. Khabib, UFC fighter, it's a pleasure to have you. We didn't know you were here!' Scott then moved the conversation to asking Nurmagomedov about his love for Paris Saint-Germain before he admitted he was also a Real Madrid man as he joked with Henry about 'breaking his heart' in 2006 after he scored the winner at the Bernabeu in the knockout stages. Nurmagomedov watched PSG win the Champions League alongside Islam Makhachev (right) - Getty Images/Michel Regan It is believed that Nurmagomedov's decision to refuse Scott's hand is because he is a devout Sunni Muslim from the Russian Republic of Dagestan. Advertisement In Islam, it is forbidden for a man to touch any part of a woman whether she is Muslim or non-Muslim unless they are related or married. Scott has been praised for navigating a potential awkward situation with excellent professionalism but it is not the first time the unbeaten former UFC fighter has refused to train with females in the gym because of their beliefs. Speaking about her experience, fellow UFC fighter Cynthia Calvillo said she found their decision 'weird'. She told theScore: 'It's a little bit weird because of their religion ... they won't train with women. '[Nurmagomedov] is still showing technique and stuff like that. So I still get to watch it. But it doesn't bother me because they're not really being directly rude to me.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Khamzat In Danger Of UFC 319 ‘Fraud Check'
Khamzat Chimaev is currently ranked No. 3 at 185 pounds and widely-expected to earn the next crack at defending middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, assuming 'Borz' can make it to fight night without another mysterious medical malady. Don't worry, matchmakers have a backup plan. Advertisement Chimaev's 'special' rise to the top, which included a pit stop at 170 pounds, came with a considerable amount of hype, to the point where fight fans were calling for a potential title shot after just two fights under the UFC banner. Former UFC lightweight, Josh Thomson, wants to pump the brakes. 'How bad is he ... or is he good? We're gonna find out when he fights DDP,' Thomson said on We Want Picks. 'I've said this for the longest time, the sample size is not big enough for me with Chimaev. It's just not big enough. Are we giving him too much credit? Everyone's like, 'Oh, he's muslim, he's got the beard, he can wrestle.' Are we giving him the Khabib credit? No one is like Khabib [Nurmagomedov], nobody is like Islam [Makhachev]. We associate the two things, they are not the same. Khabib didn't get tired. Is [Chimaev] as good as we think? Or we getting a fraud check here with DDP?' Thomson argues the 31 year-old Chimaev (14-0) has been able to capitalize on favorable circumstances, like a washed-up Gilbert Burns, hot-and-cold Kevin Holland, short-notice Kamaru Usman, and even the grill-challenged Robert Whittaker, who already had existing teeth issues. Advertisement 'He's fantastic when he's fresh, but we've seen him wilt in rounds two and rounds three,' Thomson continued. 'He got dropped by Gilbert Burns [at UFC 273] and look at Gilbert since they fought, he can't seem to buy a win right now. So is he as bad or is he as good as people wanna make him? I don't think he's as good as people want him to be. He's fantastic when he's the hammer, I'm not denying that, but what is he like when 'boom' all of the sudden he gets cracked? Is Chimaev that guy, does he fold? Does he break? I'm leaning more towards he does.' We'll find out at UFC 319 this summer in Chicago. More from
