Topuria relinquished his 145-pound title to move up to 155 pounds, with many suggesting that the Spanish-Georgian star would not have voluntarily let go of one championship belt without the promise of an immediate shot of another.
But, speaking to Covers.com, Chandler said that the smart move is for Topuria to take one relevant fight against top-drawer opposition to establish himself at the weight class before challenging for championship gold.
“Conventional wisdom would say yes, (he should take a fight first)” he said.
“His first fight in the UFC was at lightweight. He got dropped by a head kick. Now, I’m not going to say that is going to happen, or us lightweights are so much bigger and badder than the little featherweights. That’s just hyperbole.
“But I will say, these are some big dudes. We hit a lot harder than the 145ers. It’s going to be a very interesting jump up.”
Topuria has stated that he walks around at 190 pounds, but Chandler isn’t convinced, and said that he should prove to the division that he is a legitimate lightweight by beating a top five contender before then getting a shot at the 155-pound title.
“I think he’s lying about the weight a little bit,” he admitted.
“I don’t think he weighs 190 pounds. I’ve seen the man, I’ve stood next to the man, we’ve had conversations.
“With that being said, yeah, I think it would be cool for him to come in and fight somebody inside the top five to get the title shot.
“But then again, the UFC does what they want to do, and they put on the biggest fights that make sense. And Topuria versus Islam makes a lot of sense.”
