Ilia Topuria has been told that he should consider a matchup with Magomed Zaynukov at some point in the future.
Demetrious Johnson – believed by many to be the greatest fighter in UFC history – reckons that the styles of Topuria and Zaynukov would make for an intriguing clash. As of now, Topuria is the number one contender for the lightweight title after losing to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 last month.
After losing his belt and undefeated record, what’s next for Ilia Topuria?

Meanwhile, Zaynukov just made his octagon debut on the UFC Abu Dhabi card where he scored a dominant decision win over Damian Rzepecki. The Polish fighter entered the bout undefeated and is known to train with Topuria’s team.
Demetrious Johnson tells Ilia Topuria to fight Magomed Zaynukov
In a new YouTube video Demetrious Johnson broke down the debut of Magomed Zaynukov. He repeated the insistence that the Russian’s nickname is ‘Chanko’, and not ‘John Pork’ which is a meme that actually originated in a video on the very same channel.
After the relatively flawless victory, Zaynukov called out Ilia Topuria as a potential opponent, claiming that ‘Team Nurmagomedov takes on anyone’. Johnson loved the idea, and noted that it might be closer than their respective rankings indicate.
“I love that fight,” he said. “That’s a beautiful fight, I would love [to see it]. It’s kind of interesting where Ilia Topuria just lost to Justin Gaethje and there’s a lot of great matchups at 155lb and 145lb for him.
“I would love to see this matchup between Chanko and Ilia Topuria. No more ‘John Pork’, give this man the respect; ‘Chanko’.”
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