Joe Rogan Wants Ilia Topuria to Fight Islam Makhachev Next

Joe Rogan wants to see Ilia Topuria vs Islam Makhachev for the 155 title, and Diego Lopes vs Alexander Volkanovski for the 145 title:

“I don’t care if [Ilia] only defended the title one time… who cares. Let’s go. Let’s f***ing go.”

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— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) February 10, 2025

Joe Rogan doesn’t necessarily want to see Ilia Topuria defend his featherweight title again before moving up to lightweight.

Topuria dethroned Alexander Volkanovski via a vicious knockout at UFC 298 in Februrary 2024. The undefeated Georgian-Spaniard then defended his throne by knocking out Max Holloway for the first time in his career at UFC 308 in October. While rising contenders Diego Lopes and Movsar Evloev are in queue for title shots, Topuria has since been teasing a move up to lightweight while citing a lack of fresh contenders.

Rogan would love to see “El Matador” challenge lightweight champ Islam Makhachev. In that scenario, the UFC color commentator suggests that Volkanovski fight Lopes for the vacant featherweight title.

“I hope Ilia goes up to [lightweight]. I really do,” Rogan told Matt Serra on "The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “Volkanovski [vs.] Diego Lopes [at featherweight]. Ilia goes up to ’55, I don’t care if you only defended the title one time or didn’t. Who cares. [Ilia vs. Makhachev], let’s go. Let’s f—ing go… Yeah it would be nice, [if Topuria fights a few more times at featherweight]. But who cares, let’s go.”

Makhachev is undefeated since his lone career loss against Adriano Martins in 2015. The Dagestani star is riding a 15-fight winning streak including five title wins, which has seen him walk through a who’s who at 155 pounds. While he’s also eyeing a move to welterweight, the only hurdle is champ Belal Muhammad, who is close to entire Dagestani brigade.

Meanwhile, Topuria has finished 14 of his 16 career wins — including eight UFC outings — and has put on dominant displays throughout his promotional tenure.