Ilia Topuria sends chilling threat to Islam Makhachev after UFC 311: ‘If I want to, I can knock you out’

Off the back of his impressive win tonight, Islam Makhachev may already have his next challenger post-UFC 311 mapped out, with Ilia Topuria boldly claiming he could make a climb from featherweight and KO the champion simply if he wanted to.

Remaining on tonight’s UFC 311 card, Makhachev was met in the Octagon by short-notice replacement, Renato Moicano on just a day’s notice — who drafted in place of an injury-stricken, Arman Tsarukyan, who suffered a back injury during his weight cut.

And making incredibly short-work of the Brasilia challenger, Makhachev managed to land a dominant first round D’Arce choke submission win over the number ten ranked, Moicano.

With his fourth consecutive title defense, pound-for-pound number one, Makhachev surpassed each and every prior lightweight kingpin before him for most successive successful defenses at 155lbs.

Ilia Topuria offers immediate super fight to Islam Makhachev after UFC 311

However, offering matchmakers the chance to lay out his next chance rather than call his own shots, Makhachev has been offered a super fight by undisputed featherweight champion, Topuria — who boldly claimed he could knock out the Russian if they squared off next.

“Islam, if I want to, I can finish you,” Ilia Topuria posted on his official X account following Islam Makhachev’s submission win at UFC 311. “If I want to, I can knock you out. I’ll make it look easy. See you soon.”

Himself sidelined since last October, unbeaten featherweight kingpin, Topuria most recently became the first fighter in mixed martial arts to hand former champion, Max Holloway a knockout loss in his entire career — flattening the Hawaiian with a stunning stoppage win at UFC 308.