Islam Makhachev called out fellow champion Leon Edwards for a super-fight following his UFC 286 win against Kamaru Usman.
Edwards settled his rivalry with Usman by winning a majority decision in their trilogy fight at The O2 arena in London. The Brummie executed a great gameplan as he nullified the takedowns from Usman to win by scores 48-46, 48-46 and 47-47. Makhachev was quick to call for a fight against Edwards just moments after his win as he tweeted: "I want Leon next, October in Abu Dhabi."
The UFC announced they will be hosting a pay-per-view event in Abu Dhabi later this year at the same venue Makhachev won his lightweight title against Charles Oliveira last October. Edwards was asked about the possibility of facing Makhachev at the Middle East event, to which he simply replied: "Anyone can get it."
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A super-fight between Edwards and Makhachev won't be happening anytime soon as UFC boss Dana White confirmed that Colby Covington will be next in line for a welterweight title shot. Covington was in London to watch Edwards beat Usman from cageside as he flew over from America on short notice to serve as a backup fighter for their title clash. ‘Chaos’ impressively cut 18lb in just five days as he stepped on the scale at 170lb on Friday morning.
Makhachev has already spoiled one champion's hopes of winning belts in two-weight classes as he beat featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski last month. The Russian would be moving up in weight for the first time in his UFC career if he does eventually meet Edwards in a super-fight, meaning he would look to become a two-weight champion on the night.
Makhachev has just one loss in 25 professional fights and is the protege of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Russian has been encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Nurmagomedov and retire from fighting during the peak of his career as Makhachev's mother urged her son to hang up his gloves after his win against Volkanovski.
"My mother doesn’t watch fights, not just my fights – fights in general,” Makhachev explained to UFC Russia. “She doesn’t like seeing people hit each other. When I came home there were a lot of people there. [My mother] said, ‘You’re a champion now. Wrap it up. Khabib listened to his mother.
"When will you listen to yours?' I told her Khabib defended his title and I need to do the same. It’s a hard topic for my mother. My father’s the opposite. He watches all the fights.”
