Outside Source
Makhachev (28-1) moved up a weight class to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title at UFC 322 last weekend. Makhachev dominated Maddalena (18-3) on the ground for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory. Topuria was originally chasing a lightweight title shot against Makhachev. After Makhachev’s dominant performance against Maddalena, many believe the Dagestani will be a mismatch for Topuria in a potential welterweight matchup.
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A Heavier Hitter
However, Tsarukyan believes Topuria poses a much bigger threat to Makhachev than Maddalena. “Ahalkalakets” believes Topuria will be a tougher test because of his physical disposition and proven knockout power. Tsarukyan notes that “El Matador” has dropped almost all of his opponents, unlike Maddalena.
“I think Ilia fight is going to be much harder than against Maddalena,” Tsarukyan told Red Corner MMA. “Because of his body anthropometry, and also I think Ilia packs a much harder punch than Maddalena. Maddalena has fewer knockouts than Ilia. Ilia almost dropped every opponent he fought.”
Topuria (17-0) won the vacant lightweight title against Charles Oliveira after Makhachev moved up to 170 pounds. Tsarukyan (22-3) has since been chasing a gold bid against Topuria, who seems reluctant to accept the fight. Tsarukyan is now scheduled to headline UFC Qatar in a potential title eliminator against Dan Hooker (24-12) on Saturday at the ABHA Arena in Doha.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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