Ilia Topuria reportedly refused to face Islam Makhachev for a surprising reason, according to businessman.

Ilia Topuria In training. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram.

Before the official announcement of the fights to be held at UFC Casa Branca, a confrontation between Ilia Topuria e Islam makhachev It was widely anticipated by sports fans around the world. However, the Georgian/Spanish fighter will unify the lightweight (up to 70,3 kg) belts with... Justin gaethjeBeyond the momentary frustration, MMA enthusiasts were also surprised this Thursday (13) by the reason why the duel did not become a reality.

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In an interview on the podcast 'Anik and Florian', Malki Kawa, Topuria's manager, revealed that although an offer for a duel with the Russian had been made, the amounts offered were far from satisfactory.

“We were focused on winning a fight against Islam. Then, on Wednesday, they asked me: ‘Would you rather fight against Islam or against Gaethje?’ We said definitely against Islam. They gave us a sum of money, and we said no, absolutely not. After that, we didn’t hear anything more. The money offered was little—it was more like: ‘If this fight could happen, here are the figures.’ And we said: ‘Not with those figures,’” he stated.

💰😳 An important detail MMA media forgot to mention regarding Makhachev vs. Topuria fight negotiations.

Manager Malki Kawa says they said 'No' to the money that was offered for the Islam makhachev fight, and the UFC ended up making Topuria vs. Gaethje:

We were focused on… pic.twitter.com/THjKu3yZCs

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 12, 2026

Topuria accused Makhachev of running away from the fight

Recently, the lightweight champion (up to 70,3 kg) himself had used social media to confront his rival and accuse him of avoiding the fight by claiming to have suffered a hand injury.

“Once again, Islam is making up an excuse. This time, it’s an injury. I always knew I would be participating in the White House event. Even when the UFC told me, at one point, that they wouldn’t be counting on me for the event, I knew it was part of the negotiation. When they finally told me I would be on the White House card, they mentioned Islam, and I didn’t hesitate for a second to accept the fight. Although the fight hadn’t been officially confirmed yet, the White House card would be announced the next day. And when I woke up, I found out that Islam had gotten injured. And then…” Justin gaethje "It has appeared. Once again, someone will pay for Islam's escape," El Matador stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter) two days ago.