Former UFC star Michael Bisping talks about a bankable opportunity for the UFC, vouches for an Ilia Topuria vs. Islam Makhachev bout

With Ilia Topuria’s upcoming bout yet to be announced ever since his move up to the lightweight division, former MMA fighter and analyst Michael Bisping has also jumped in to put his opinion as to what UFC should do next. As per the sports commentator, he believes that this is a great opportunity for the UFC to bank on. Especially with an announcement that would highlight an ex-featherweight champion going against the lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, it will have the fans go crazy.
Michael Bisping took to his YouTube channel, where he talked about Paddy Pimblett’s reaction upon Topuria’s moving up the weight along with analyzing the cryptic tweet posted by the Spanish fighter on March 7, 2025.

“Realistically, there’s a ton of options for Ilia Topuria, but the reality is, Islam Makhachev has got to fight somebody soon, and so does Ilia Topuria. Justin Gaethje wants to fight for the belt, but Justin Gaethje really doesn’t give a sh*t right now. I think Justin Gaethje is happy making the phenomenal amount of money that he is and just going out there and being able to be himself.” Bisping emphasized how other fighters like Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje has an equal chance of facing Makhachev and went on to add, “It’s probably going to be, if you asked me to bet, I think Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria. Any of those guys – Arman, Charles, Justin – sure, they’d all be phenomenal fights and they’d all have a realistic chance of potentially beating Ilia Topuria. Granted, Ilia is special, but if he lost to them, there’s a massive market opportunity lost there, because Ilia vs. Islam – Ilia with the rise, Ilia still being in a lot of people’s minds the featherweight champion against the lightweight champion – there’s something there,”
The English sports commentator believes that any match otherwise not ending in favor of Topuria will ultimately curb the excitement for a Topuria vs. Makhachev bout.
“The public wouldn’t be quite still as invested. So I think they’re going to give him the title fight. I think Islam is going to take it. Granted, he wants a shot at becoming a two-weight champion, but he’s going to have to wait for a while because of Belal (Muhammad). So, in the meantime, you take out Ilia Topuria, which would be an absolutely blockbuster fight.”
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Both Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev have conquered their respective divisions through their remarkable display of skills. Hence, a bout between the former featherweight and current lightweight champion will indeed be a spectacle to watch.