Islam Makhachev doesn’t seem interested in defending his lightweight title against Arman Tsarukyan.
The UFC lightweight champion last fought at UFC 302, where he defended his title in a barnbuster against Dustin Poirier. Afterwards, he was called out by number one contender Tsarukyan, who is currently serving a suspension due to misconduct.
During a recent Q&A ahead of UFC Abu Dhabi, Makhachev mentioned that he’s ready to fight again and has plenty of potential challenges, including the surging Tsarukyan, who has won 9 of his 11 UFC fights, with his only losses coming from a razor-close split decision to Mateusz Gamrot and a debut bout against Makhachev in 2019.
When asked if he’d prefer a fight with ‘BMF’ champion Holloway, Makhachev responded in affirmative.
“Why not?” Makhachev said of Holloway. “Because I already beat Arman. If UFC puts [Tsarukyan] next, no problem, but it’s not an exciting match for me. I need some new name, new challenger. I already beat Arman. If Max wants, let’s do it. I don’t need [the BMF] belt, but Max is a good name, a big name, and it’s going to be a crazy fight for the fans.”
As far as Makhachev’s welterweight hopes are concerned, they have died down significantly after his friend and occasional training partner, Belal Muhammad, won the belt by dominating Leon Edwards at UFC 304. Instead, he now wants to move up to middleweight.
“I can move [up], but it’s going to be hard,” Makhachev said. “All middleweight guys are so big and I have to bring some weight. We will see. When I finish all my jobs in my division, we will make plans.”
Who do you think Islam Makhachev should fight next?
