Ilia Topuria discussed Ian Garry's upcoming fight with Islam Makhachev, stating that Garry has a legitimate chance to win. Topuria pointed to the fact that Islam has been knocked out before in his career as a key factor. He emphasized that this is the fight business and everyone has a chance, especially someone with Garry's experience. Topuria noted that Garry has accumulated considerable experience throughout his UFC career, which gives him multiple avenues to victory.
Ilia Topuria has gone on record backing Ian Garry to cause an upset against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, arguing the Irish welterweight holds a genuine shot at victory when the two meet.
Topuria, ranked number one pound-for-pound and second in the lightweight division at 17-1-0, made the case that Makhachev's career knockout loss proves the Russian champion is not untouchable. The 29-year-old Georgian-Spaniard noted that in the fight business everyone carries a puncher's chance, and that Garry's accumulated UFC experience opens up multiple paths to a win. Topuria himself lands 4.81 significant strikes per minute, so his respect for knockout potential as a deciding factor carries some weight.
Makhachev, 34, enters as the reigning welterweight champion with a 28-1-0 record and the number-one position in the pound-for-pound rankings. Fighting out of Dagestan with Eagles MMA in a southpaw stance, the Russian is a suffocating all-around threat — he connects at 58 percent striking accuracy, averages 3.2 takedowns per 15 minutes, and adds 1.1 submission attempts per 15 minutes on top of that. His lone professional defeat, the one Topuria specifically referenced, remains the solitary crack in an otherwise dominant résumé.
Why it matters
- Makhachev's single career loss gives opponents and commentators a concrete reference point when arguing he can be beaten.
- Topuria's endorsement of Garry's chances adds credibility given his own standing as the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
- If Garry were to win, it would shake up both the welterweight title picture and the broader pound-for-pound landscape.
- Topuria's comments keep his own name in the conversation around Makhachev, a fighter he could conceivably face in the future.
