UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev seemingly has a number of options for his next fight, yet nothing seems to be a lock.
Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) hasn’t competed since February, when he earned a unanimous decision win over featherweight titleholder Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284 in Australia. He’s expected to return to action Oct. 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, but no opponent has been confirmed at this time.
Just a few weeks ago, the obvious choice appeared to be a rematch with Charles Oliveira, whom Makhachev took the 155-pound belt from by submission at UFC 280 last October. “Do Bronx” put himself in position to run it back with a brilliant finish of Beneil Dariush in June, but then Oliveira (34-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) recently revealed he would not be ready to fight Makhachev three months from now.
That opened the door for Volkanovski (26-2 MMA, 13-1 UFC) to make his case for a rematch, and he did just that earlier this month when he returned to 145 pounds for a dominant defense over Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290. Volkanovski underwent elbow surgery this week to repair a lingering issue but has made it clear he will be healthy and prepared for his shot at revenge against Makhachev at UFC 294, if given the opportunity.
In terms of other lightweight contenders, the UFC’s next major event, UFC 291 on July 29 in Salt Lake City, is headlined by a “BMF” title fight between former interim UFC champions Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. The winner of that fight will have a solid case for a title shot, but with expectations of a grueling contest, a quick turnaround for Abu Dhabi could be unreasonable.
With uncertainty around all potential pairings for a title defense, Makhachev took matters into his own hands Tuesday when he issued a callout to UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Dual-champ status is something Makhachev has vocalized pursuing at some point, but he felt he needed to establish his position as champion before doing so. However, given the situation, the callout of Edwards (20-3 MMA, 12-2 UFC) shows he’s keen to expedite the timeline.
MMA Junkie spoke with one of Makhachev’s coaches, Javier Mendez of American Kickboxing Academy, on behalf of SafeBettingSites.com to get his reaction to the callout of Edwards, the potential options for Makhachev in Abu Dhabi and how he would like to see everything unfold.
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On Makhachev's callout of Leon Edwards
“Knowing Islam, if Islam is saying, ‘Hey, Leon, let’s go,’ then I would think the UFC can make that happen. Islam would be more than happy to do it. He likes challenges. There’s no real challenges for him out there right now. … If you don’t ask, you’re never going to get. You’ve got to ask. Like Islam, if Islam didn’t ask for Leon Edwards, you think that might’ve happened? Probably not. Now it’s in everybody’s mind.
“Islam has spoken about at one point going up to the welterweight division, and here we’re at that stage right now where all the other guys are knocked off. What’s the challenge? Leon Edwards is the challenge.”
On Makhachev fighting at welterweight
“He only needs two months (to be ready for welterweight). Islam’s a big guy normally anyways. It’s just like Alex (Volkanovski). When Islam fought Alex, if I’m not mistaken, Alex was the day of the fight two pounds heavier than Islam. It could end up being the same type of scenario where if Leon does materialize, I would not be surprised if Islam was two pounds heavier or two pounds lighter. Islam is a big guy like Alex is a big guy. That’s something people don’t seem to understand. When Islam fought Alex, they fought at 155. He didn’t fight him at 145. Actual fight day, one was heavier than the other.”
On Charles Oliveira's timeline for Abu Dhabi
“(Could) they talk Charles back? Charles may go, ‘Wait a minute, if I don’t take this fight and I’m healthy and I’m trying to strong-arm them,’ meaning he doesn’t want to take this fight because he wants it in Brazil, it might be his only opportunity. He might go, ‘I’ll fight him in Abu Dhabi again because I’m the champion and I want to prove it, so I’m going to come to your territory again. I lost my title to you there, so let me try to win it from you there.’ I could see the UFC working on Charles because there’s no injury. It’s just his desire to make it in Brazil.
“Unless you’re injured and have something going on, you only need two months. He’s got two months if there’s nothing wrong with him. If it’s just a matter of what he wants, you can’t blame him. The guy’s had quite a few defenses and had some great, great moments. After a while you have to feel like, ‘I’m the boss, I’m in charge, so let me call the shots.’ I could see Charles feeling that way. I don’t blame him. “
On Makhachev facing Poirier vs. Gaethje winner
“Gaethje and Dustin potentially (could be next). How healthy are they going to be? How much time are they going to need?”
On Makhachev rematch with Volkanovski
“That’s a fight I welcome, too, because it’s going to be a different fight. They got their homework, we got our homework, and we’ll make adjustments. You got two of the greats, pound-for-pound guys going at it again. This time I’m not even going to get into, ‘Who is No. 1 and who is No. 2?’ It just makes no sense to me how you can say, ‘This fight’s for the No. 1 pound-for-pound’ and the guy that won didn’t get pound-for-pound. How does that make sense? Especially being the weight is the same. I don’t get it. But that’s OK. It means nothing, because the person that holds the title holds the title.
“For me it was 4-1 (in the first fight), so I favored us bigger. 3-2 works, but I thought bigger than that. I think it was the ‘Rocky’ scenario. Rocky finished strong, but Apollo Creed kept the title. Because he did, let’s face it, the last minute was a very dominant minute for Alex. The last minute of that fight. But outside of that there was no dominant anything. It was him being taken down. It was him being out struck. It was him playing it up for the crowd like, ‘You ain’t doing nothing.’ But he was losing control. In people’s minds it was like, ‘Oh, he’s doing better than we thought,’ so in their eyes they’re thinking, ‘This guy must be the winner.’ Everyone that was on Alex’s side thought he won, but everyone that was neutral or on Islam’s side, knew he won.”
On expectations for Makhachev at UFC 294
“I always see growth in his game. He’s always evolving. He’s always getting better. He knows what he needs to do, and he knows what he needs to work on, and he’s always active. That’s the one thing about my Dagestani guys: No matter what, season, offseason, fight or no fight, they’re always training. They’re always doing something. Islam is an adventure type of guy, he likes riding motorcycles, riding horse or finishing – he likes doing things that are outdoorsy and physical. That’s his lifestyle, so I’m always expecting he’s going to be not far out of shape. Since I’ve known him in 2014-2015, he’s always been this way. I don’t see it changing anytime soon.
“I see him following his goals and his destiny to continue to fight in the lightweight division, and if there’s nobody there to fight, then going up to welterweight like he has mentioned. These are not my words, these are his words, that ‘I want to eventually challenge myself and go the welterweight division and whoever holds the title there and challenge for that title.’ I believe he can do it. I know he can do it.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 294.
