Ilia Topuria’s bold move to ditch his featherweight belt and chase lightweight gold has the MMA world buzzing—and Michael Bisping thinks he’s got a straight shot at Islam Makhachev next. Last month, Topuria stunned everyone by vacating his 145-pound title, declaring he’s headed to 155 for a second strap. Naturally, fans wondered if the UFC would fast-track him to Makhachev’s lightweight crown, even though the champ himself has said he’d rather see Topuria prove himself at the new weight first. But Bisping? He’s betting on the blockbuster matchup happening sooner than later.

“Realistically, there’s a ton of options for Ilia Topuria, but the reality is, Islam Makhachev has got to fight somebody soon and so does Ilia Topuria,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Justin Gaethje wants to fight for the belt, but Justin Gaethje really doesn’t give a shit right now. I think Justin Gaethje is happy making the phenomenal amount of money that he is and going out there and being able to be himself. … So realistically, any of those guys that I just mentioned — Islam, Armen [Tsarukyan], Charles [Oliveira], Justin — any single one of them, and it might be one of them, but it’s probably going to be, if you asked me to bet, I think Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria [is next].”

Makhachev’s not exactly jumping at the chance, though. The lightweight kingpin—who’s already defended his belt twice against featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski—would rather climb to welterweight than tangle with another smaller guy. Problem is, the 155-pound division’s contender pool is looking thin. Arman Tsarukyan was set to challenge at UFC 311 but pulled out during fight week, prompting Dana White to say he’s back to square one. Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira? Both are coming off losses. And with Makhachev’s buddy Belal Muhammad sitting pretty at 170, a move up might have to wait.

Why Topuria vs. Makhachev Makes Sense

Bisping sees the UFC seizing the moment with Topuria. “Any of those guys — Armen, Charles, Justin — sure, they’d all be phenomenal fights and they’d all have a realistic chance of beating Ilia Topuria,” Bisping said. “Granted, Ilia is special. … But if he lost to them, there’s a massive market opportunity lost there, because Ilia vs. Islam, Ilia with the rise, Ilia still being in a lot of people’s minds the featherweight champion against the lightweight champion, there’s something there. Yeah, if he loses to Gaethje and two or three fights later gets a shot, it’s not quite the same sell. The public won’t be quite as invested. So I think they’re going to give him the title fight. and I think Islam is going to take it. Yes, OK, granted, he wants a shot at becoming a two-weight champion, but he’s going to have to wait for a while because of Belal, so in the mean time, you take out Ilia Topuria, which would be an absolutely blockbuster fight.”

For now, nothing’s locked in. Neither Topuria nor Makhachev have a fight date set, but Topuria’s been dropping hints about a big reveal coming soon. If Bisping’s right, we could be in for a champ-vs.-champ showdown that’d light up the octagon—and the box office.

Keep your eyes peeled for updates!