The *rumored* superfight between Ilia and Islam makes no sense and is bad for the both of them
Let me explain. Islam has the most title defenses out of any LW champ in history. He has the most title defenses out of any champ currently. Why give him a fighter where he will be in a lose-lose situation no matter what? If the fight is announced, people are going to say, “Oh look, Islam is fighting yet another FW.” If Islam wins, people will say “Congrats, he beat another FW. Have him fight a real lightweight.” If he loses, he lost to a smaller guy. Islam deserves to go for that champ champ status he’s been wanting for a while.
The only problem is… Belal and Shavkhat still haven’t been announced for a fight. No doubt due to Ramadan. This is bad for Islam because if he waits for that fight to happen(which will probably take place in June), he’s probably not going to fight until the end of the year, which would virtually be a 1 year layoff. And if Belal wins, is he just not going to fight Belal? That’s on Islam. If he wants his champ champ status, he has to sacrifice his friendship with Belal, because he’s not beating Du Plessis. If Belal had never pulled out against Shavkhat in December and Shavkhat won, that would’ve been perfect for Islam because he would’ve been able to fight Shavkhat in June or July. But now he has to wait for that fight to happen, and then for the winner to recover. Of course, Islam could just fight another Lightweight in the meantime, but with Arman sent to the back of the line by Dana, which Lightweight could possibly be next for Islam?
As for Ilia, I personally think he has the best chance of beating Islam out of anyone in the UFC. I’d say he has a better chance of beating Islam than Arman, Belal, and Shavkhat. And that’s primarily due to Ilia’s KO power. If he can KO Holloway, he can KO anyone, period. Arman doesn’t really have KO power, Belal has pillow hands, and Shavkhat didn’t look that good against number 7. Ilia has finished the two FW GOATS back to back, which is absolutely insane.
However, he’s still too green to fight Islam. I say that because fighting a Volk that didn’t grapple and fighting Striker Holloway doesn’t really prepare you for Islam. I’m actually a non-Spanish/Georgian Ilia fan(yes we exist lol), so I want him to beat Islam, but right now, I’d pick Islam to beat him due to the fact that Ilia doesn’t have experience fighting someone like Islam. If he fights Volk in a rematch, and then Diego Lopes, and then Movsar, THEN I would pick him to beat Islam. Volk said he’s going to wrestle in the rematch, so fighting Volk would prepare him for the well-roundedness of Islam. Fighting Diego Lopes would prepare him for the submission threat of Islam. Fighting Movsvar would prepare him for that Caucasus wrestling of the brotha brothas. Only then would I pick him to beat Islam.
And it’s better to let Ilia fight Islam later. It would do much more for Ilia’s legacy if he beats a double champ Islam rather than beating a single champ Islam who unfortunately still has doubters and haters saying he only fights Featherweights or short notice fighters.
Let me explain. Islam has the most title defenses out of any LW champ in history. He has the most title defenses out of any champ currently. Why give him a fighter where he will be in a lose-lose situation no matter what? If the fight is announced, people are going to say, “Oh look, Islam is fighting yet another FW.” If Islam wins, people will say “Congrats, he beat another FW. Have him fight a real lightweight.” If he loses, he lost to a smaller guy. Islam deserves to go for that champ champ status he’s been wanting for a while.
The only problem is… Belal and Shavkhat still haven’t been announced for a fight. No doubt due to Ramadan. This is bad for Islam because if he waits for that fight to happen(which will probably take place in June), he’s probably not going to fight until the end of the year, which would virtually be a 1 year layoff. And if Belal wins, is he just not going to fight Belal? That’s on Islam. If he wants his champ champ status, he has to sacrifice his friendship with Belal, because he’s not beating Du Plessis. If Belal had never pulled out against Shavkhat in December and Shavkhat won, that would’ve been perfect for Islam because he would’ve been able to fight Shavkhat in June or July. But now he has to wait for that fight to happen, and then for the winner to recover. Of course, Islam could just fight another Lightweight in the meantime, but with Arman sent to the back of the line by Dana, which Lightweight could possibly be next for Islam?
As for Ilia, I personally think he has the best chance of beating Islam out of anyone in the UFC. I’d say he has a better chance of beating Islam than Arman, Belal, and Shavkhat. And that’s primarily due to Ilia’s KO power. If he can KO Holloway, he can KO anyone, period. Arman doesn’t really have KO power, Belal has pillow hands, and Shavkhat didn’t look that good against number 7. Ilia has finished the two FW GOATS back to back, which is absolutely insane.
However, he’s still too green to fight Islam. I say that because fighting a Volk that didn’t grapple and fighting Striker Holloway doesn’t really prepare you for Islam. I’m actually a non-Spanish/Georgian Ilia fan(yes we exist lol), so I want him to beat Islam, but right now, I’d pick Islam to beat him due to the fact that Ilia doesn’t have experience fighting someone like Islam. If he fights Volk in a rematch, and then Diego Lopes, and then Movsar, THEN I would pick him to beat Islam. Volk said he’s going to wrestle in the rematch, so fighting Volk would prepare him for the well-roundedness of Islam. Fighting Diego Lopes would prepare him for the submission threat of Islam. Fighting Movsvar would prepare him for that Caucasus wrestling of the brotha brothas. Only then would I pick him to beat Islam.
And it’s better to let Ilia fight Islam later. It would do much more for Ilia’s legacy if he beats a double champ Islam rather than beating a single champ Islam who unfortunately still has doubters and haters saying he only fights Featherweights or short notice fighters.