Ben Askren: UFC should strip Islam Makhachev if he refuses Ilia Topuria fight

Ben Askren wants to see UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev face consequences if he turns down Ilia Topuria.

Topuria (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) claimed that the UFC promised him an immediate title shot at lightweight after he vacated his featherweight title. However, with Makhachev and his team needing Topuria to earn his shot by beating a No. 1 contender, many are questioning if the fight happens.

Askren thinks the UFC should force Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) to face Topuria.

“I think Dana (White) should just do Dana stuff and just say, ‘Hey, Islam, if you don’t want to fight, you’re stripped,'” Askren said on his “Funky and the Champ” show with Daniel Cormier. “He’s done that. That is in Dana’s repertoire. If you’re the champion, you’re supposed to defend the belt against the best person, right? So Ilia has beaten two legends in a row.

“Not only beat them but finished them at 145 pounds: Volkanovski and Holloway. Very, very clearly the best, choosing to go up. … Given Arman was supposed to have the title shot, and he pulled out on super-late notice so they want to make him fight someone else first. So, that makes perfect sense for Ilia to pop in given the fact that he’s a champion, he’s undefeated, has defeated two legends in a row. I don’t see how you deny him the title shot.”

Askren says Topuria is the most compelling fight for Makhachev, and doesn’t understand the pushback. Daniel Cormier explained where the pushback comes from.

“After he knocked him out, all the talk was about, well, you just knocked out a featherweight, it doesn’t lend itself to much,” Cormier said. “I believe that’s the pushback, that even if you beat Topuria who has looked so dominant and so unbeatable, people are still going to say, well, you just beat a featherweight.”

Askren thinks White usually gets his way.

“Having someone who is like a tyrant or a dictator at the top, able to force issues, is kind of helpful because it doesn’t take a genius to realize that if Topuria is vacating and moving, he’s the second best, and Makhachev is the first best,” Askren said.

“You make them fight, right? And so if No. 1, Makhachev, doesn’t want to fight, you say, ‘Hey dude, you got to fight,’ and if he says, ‘No, screw off,’ it’s like OK, we’re going to take your belt and we’re going to put Topuria against someone else.”