Chael Sonnen highlights Ilia Topuria bout he believes outdraws clash with Islam Makhachev

Even with Makhachev set to make his welterweight debut soon, he has not ruled out a return to 155lbs for a potential clash with the Spaniard.

Sonnen, however, believes there is a more intriguing matchup out there for ‘El Matador’. Speaking on Good Guy/Bad Guy, he made the case for why Topuria facing Paddy Pimblett would draw even more interest.

“Islam vs Ilia is not this massive fight that people are trying to make believe it is, it could with a little bit of time, I’m just sharing for you, those guys are a little bit too close to the trees to see the forest.

He added: “Ilia Topuria vs Paddy ‘The Baddy’ does a bigger gate than Ilia Topuria vs Islam, right now. You put a belt around Islam and maybe we’re having a different conversation.”

Pimblett’s popularity continues to rise, and after Topuria’s win over Oliveira, the two had an unexpected face-off inside the cage – something that did not sit well with Dana White.

While Pimblett’s name gains weight, most fans still seem more interested in seeing Topuria take on Makhachev.

Pimblett has been climbing up the lightweight rankings

After his win over Michael Chandler at UFC 314, Pimblett broke into the top 10 of the lightweight rankings, coming in at number nine.

Even though he has not fought since April, there has been a lot of talk around a potential bout with Topuria. The buzz has helped him move up even further in the rankings recently.

That rise has only fuelled speculation that he might be next in line to challenge ‘El Matador’ for the title.