“Three years… three belts” @TopuriaIlia has big plans for the next three years!#UFC308 | Oct 26, 5PM | LIVE on TNT Sports Box Office ➡️ https://t.co/uXQAMHNTBd pic.twitter.com/h8S8uRAWr4
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) October 22, 2024
Ilia Topuria took yet another dig at Belal Muhammad while expressing triple champ aspirations.
Topuria is set to defend his featherweight title for the first time against Max Holloway in the main event at UFC 308 this Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. “El Matador” recently revealed that his ultimate goal is to become a three-division champ.
“Probably a three-weight world champion, this is my goal,” Topuria recently told TNT Sports. You’re not going to see me in the welterweight division like this, skinny. You’re going to see me different. That’s the goal. Move up to the lightweight division, get that belt, then move up to the welterweight division.”
UFC 308: Topuria vs. Holloway Saturday at 2 PM ET on ESPN+. Order Now!
Topuria has recently been taking shots at both lightweight champ Islam Makhachev and welterweight champ Muhammad. While Topuria has still been mostly respectful toward Makhachev, he has gone off on “Remember the Name” for what he perceives to be a lackluster style. Recently, Topuria yet again pointed out the lack of finishes on Muhammad’s record. Topuria also claims that realizing his triple-champ dream will be a walk in the park if Muhammad remains the champ at welterweight.
“If Belal remains champion, it’s a walk in the park,’ Topuria told KOI Menero MMA. “It would be a walk in the park for me to go up and win the welterweight title. But walk in the park [yawns]. That’s it. He’s a bum. Really really bad. A champion who hasn’t finished anyone, hasn’t had knockdowns. What kind of champion are you? This morning I woke up and saw him say, ‘If I see [Topuria], I’m going to slap him. It’s like everyone has a street, gangster attitude. Sometimes I wonder what they’re doing fighting in the UFC and dedicating themselves to a pro sport. It seems that they are all gangsters and clowns, who later don’t want to look you in the eyes. You know, someone who’s really capable of doing something wouldn’t tell you. They won’t even bark. He even wants to beat me by decision. I’ll give you a slap man, shut up.”
Ilia Topuria went OFF on Belal Muhammad again
“If Belal remains champion, it would be a walk in the park for me to go up and win the welterweight title… he’s a bum. Really, really bad…
This morning I woke up and saw him say ‘if I see I’m going to slap him’…… pic.twitter.com/1RbBYG4ZbE
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 23, 2024
While Muhammad has six finishes to his name, only three of them came inside the UFC in 19 promotional outings. Muhammad won the title with a dominant unanimous decision over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 this past July. He is now scheduled to defend it against undefeated Kazakh contender Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, Topuria has finished 13 of his 15 career wins so far, which includes seven UFC victories. The undefeated 27-year-old knocked out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past February to become the youngest reigning champ.
