If Islam Makhachev wins his next fight, he’ll “absolutely” get an opportunity to add another belt to his collection.
In June, the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ successfully defended his lightweight championship against three-time title challenger Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in New Jersey. Makhachev had hoped to put his gold on the line at Saturday’s pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi, but a hand injury forced him to sit out the rest of 2024.
When he does return, Makhachev is expected to square off with the division’s top-ranked contender, Arman Tsarukyan.
With Makhachev already expressing interest in moving up to welterweight for a shot at champ-champ status, Dana White revealed at Thursday’s Power Slap press conference that he would happily allow Makhachev to move up should he score a win over ‘Ahalkalakets’ in his next outing.
Dana White says he’ll “absolutely” give Islam Makhachev a welterweight title shot if he wins his next fight
@ufc #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/ckC4u1D2Ep
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 24, 2024
Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad not interested in fighting Islam makhachev
Right now, the welterweight title resides with Belal Muhammad after ‘Remember The Name’ delivered a mostly dominant showing against Leon Edwards in Manchester earlier this year.
Currently, Muhammad is scheduled to defend the welterweight crown against unbeaten finisher Shavkat Rakhmonov in the UFC 310 headliner on December 7.
Unfortunately for Makhachev, even if Muhammad comes out on top, he’s not likely to give the Dagestani a title opportunity.
“I would never fight him, 100 percent, but honestly, he could go up to 185 and beat [Dricus] du Plessis right now,” Muhammad told MMA Fighting in June. “I think he’s that good, really. I think he could go up there and be that two-division champ.”
