Ben Askren is pushing for decisive action against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev should he refuse a fight with Ilia Topuria.
The controversy stems from Topuria’s take that the UFC guaranteed him an immediate lightweight title opportunity after relinquishing his featherweight belt.
Makhachev and his team are now challenging this claim, insisting that Topuria must first prove his worth by defeating a top-ranked contender before they can fight. This disagreement has cast doubt on the potential matchup.
Askren’s stance is clear: the UFC should compel Makhachev to face Topuria if they made a promise to the newly crowned featherweight champion. He believes that ignoring Topuria’s claim would set a detrimental precedent, undermining the UFC’s credibility and discouraging future champions from making similar moves.
“I think Dana (White) should just do Dana stuff and just say, ‘Hey, Islam, if you don’t want to fight, you’re stripped,’” Askren said on his Funky and the Champ show with Daniel Cormier. “He’s done that. That is in Dana’s repertoire. If you’re the champion, you’re supposed to defend the belt against the best person, right? So Ilia has beaten two legends in a row.
“Not only beat them but finished them at 145 pounds: Volkanovski and Holloway. Very, very clearly the best, choosing to go up. … Given Arman was supposed to have the title shot, and he pulled out on super-late notice so they want to make him fight someone else first. So, that makes perfect sense for Ilia to pop in given the fact that he’s a champion, he’s undefeated, has defeated two legends in a row. I don’t see how you deny him the title shot.”
