Islam Makhachev News

Dustin Poirier
Islam Makhachev

Ali Abdelaziz tells Dustin Poirier if he wins at UFC 299 he's fighting Islam Makhachev in June

Cole Shelton - March 8, 2024

Dustin Poirier could be fighting for a title shot on Saturday at UFC 299. Poirier is set to face Benoit Saint-Denis in the co-main event of UFC 299 in a highly-anticipated matchup. It’s also a crucial fight for Poirier due to the fact he is coming off a KO loss to Justin Gaethje. Despite the loss, Poirier is still a title contender at lightweight, and he could get a title shot with a win on Saturday.

Anatoly Malykhin
Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev names Anatoly Malykhin as “most dangerous guy on the planet”

BJPENN.COM Staff - March 5, 2024

Anatoly Malykhin has earned the respect and admiration of Islam Makhachev following the Russian hard-hitter’s historic milestone. The unprecedented feat unfolded in his epic rematch against Reinier de Ridder at ONE 166: Qatar last Friday, March 1.

Islam Makhachev
Javier Mendez

Javier Mendez lays out future plans for UFC champion Islam Makhachev: "I’d love to see that"

Fernando Quiles - February 20, 2024

Islam Makhachev, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, will not be featured on the UFC 300 card, but his coach has an update. UFC 300 will feature a pivotal lightweight clash between former 155-pound titleholder Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan. UFC CEO Dana White has claimed the bout will determine the number one contender for a shot at Makhachev’s lightweight gold. It’ll be interesting to see who who will emerge victorious to challenge Makhachev, but what is the Makhachev camp thinking in terms of the future?

Alexander Volkanovski
Islam Makhachev

Alexander Volkanovski reveals drinking habits prior to Islam Makhachev rematch

Harry Kettle - February 7, 2024

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has revealed the nature of his drinking habits prior to his rematch against Islam Makhachev. At UFC 298, Alexander Volkanovski returns to defend his belt against rising star Ilia Topuria. It comes just months after his short notice rematch against Islam Makhachev, which he lost via brutal head kick KO.

Charles Oliveira celebrating
Charles Oliveira

Arman Tsarukyan's coach believes Charles Oliveira is “more dangerous” than current UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev: “He's dangerous everywhere”

Harry Kettle - January 16, 2024

Arman Tsarukyan’s coach believes that Charles Oliveira is actually more dangerous than UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. At UFC 300, Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan will collide in a number one contender fight. The winner is expected to take on Islam Makhachev later this year, with their contest being used as a way to determine who the true top guy is to battle Makhachev.

Arman Tsarukyan
Charles Oliveira

Arman Tsarukyan plans to KO Charles Oliveira and earn June title fight with Islam Makhachev: “Gaethje has to wait until October”

Harry Kettle - January 11, 2024

UFC fighter Arman Tsarukyan plans to earn a title shot against Islam Makhachev this summer by knocking out Charles Oliveira. At UFC 300, Arman Tsarukyan will face the biggest test of his career. He is set to lock horns with Charles Oliveira in what has been dubbed a number one contender bout. The winner is expected to take on Islam Makhachev later this year.

Islam Makhachev
UFC

Manager details why Islam Makhachev doesn't have a fight booked, gives timeframe for return

Cole Shelton - January 9, 2024

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev appears to be on the sidelines for quite some time. Makhachev defended his lightweight title for the second time with a first-round knockout over Alexander Volkanovski back in October. After the fight, many expected Makhachev to return in the first quarter of 2024 before Ramadan and he was pushing to return on March 9.

Islam Makhachev, Paul Felder
Paul Felder

Paul Felder implores Islam Makhachev to stay at lightweight amid double-champ talk: "Stay in your freaking division"

Josh Evanoff - December 29, 2023

UFC analyst Paul Felder sees no reason why Islam Makhachev needs to challenge Leon Edwards, yet. ‘Rocky’ is fresh off his return earlier this month at UFC 296 against Colby Covington. There, Edwards turned in a dominant performance, scoring a unanimous decision win over ‘Chaos’. While his second title defense was an impressive one to many, Islam Makhachev didn’t exactly feel threatened.

Justin Gaethje and Islam Makhachev
Justin Gaethje

Justin Gaethje says he’s “waiting on the call” for UFC title fight with Islam Makhachev: “Do Bronx had his shot and didn’t show up”

Harry Kettle - December 27, 2023

UFC star Justin Gaethje has said that he is “waiting on the call” regarding a title shot against UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. For as long as we can remember, Justin Gaethje has been seen as one of the most exciting fighters in all of mixed martial arts. He’s quick, he’s got an entertaining style, and he has more UFC bonuses than we can count.

Leon Edwards
Islam Makhachev

Henry Cejudo believes Islam Makhachev would “expose” Leon Edwards in potential UFC super fight

Harry Kettle - December 21, 2023

UFC star Henry Cejudo has given his thoughts on a potential showdown between Islam Makhachev and Leon Edwards. Last weekend, Leon Edwards successfully retained his UFC welterweight championship. He did so by defeating Colby Covington, establishing himself as the best 170-pounder on the planet right now. In terms of what’s next, a lot of names have been thrown around, including Belal Muhammad and Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Daniel Cormier and Islam Makhachev
Islam Makhachev

Daniel Cormier believes Islam Makhachev's rematch comments are an early sign of retirement: "Only a couple more years"

Josh Evanoff - December 12, 2023

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier believes Islam Makhachev’s recent comments could be a sign of his impending retirement. The Russian has been out of the cage since a rematch with Alexander Volkanovski in October. There, Islam Makhachev picked up his second win over ‘The Great’ by knockout, with names such as Daniel Cormier watching by. Following the win, he was called out by many top lightweights.

Islam Makhachev
Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev dismisses rematches with Charles Oliveira & Arman Tsarukyan: "If you want to be a champion in a good way, you have to add new names"

Fernando Quiles - December 10, 2023

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev isn’t a fan of rematches. Makhachev was scheduled to have a second bout with Charles Oliveira at UFC 294 back in October. Oliveira was forced to pull out due to a nasty gash he suffered while sparring. As a result, Makhachev took another rematch, but with UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski. It was a sensational showing for Makhachev, as he scored a first-round head kick for knockout win.

Charles Oliveira celebrating
Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier confident that Charles Oliveira is capable of dethroning Islam Makhachev: “He can win that fight”

Harry Kettle - November 14, 2023

Dustin Poirier believes that Charles Oliveira has what it takes to dethrone Islam Makhachev in a future rematch. At UFC 294, Islam Makhachev was initially scheduled to defend his UFC lightweight championship against Charles Oliveira. Unfortunately, as a result of ‘Do Bronx’ suffering a nasty cut in training, he was forced to withdraw. Alexander Volkanovski replaced him on short notice and ultimately, came up short in a knockout defeat to the star from Dagestan.

Islam Makhachev
Khabib Nurmagomedov

Khabib Nurmagomedov reacts after Islam Makhachev dethrones Jon Jones for top spot in UFC pound for pound rankings

Harry Kettle - November 8, 2023

Khabib Nurmagomedov has given his thoughts on Islam Makhachev finally being given the #1 spot in the pound-for-pound rankings. Last month, Islam Makhachev knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to successfully retain his UFC lightweight championship. In doing so, many felt as if he established himself as the pound-for-pound best fighter in the UFC. Alas, at the time, Jon Jones was kept at the top of the mountain.

Islam Makhachev and Jon Jones
Jon Jones

Islam Makhachev takes over top spot in UFC pound for pound rankings

Susan Cox - November 7, 2023

Islam Makhachev has taken over top stop in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings. The reigning lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev (25-1 MMA) has taken the No. 1 spot away from the current heavyweight champion Jon Jones (27-1 MMA) on the pound-for-pound official UFC rankings.

Islam Makhachev Conor McGregor
Islam Makhachev

Coach explains why beating Conor McGregor would do nothing for the legacy Islam Makhachev is looking to create

Susan Cox - November 6, 2023

Coach Javier Mendez is explaining why beating Conor McGregor would do nothing for the legacy Islam Makhachev is looking to create. Islam Makachev (25-1 MMA), the current lightweight champion, most recently defeated Alexander Volkanvoski (26-3 MMA) last month at UFC 294.

Charles Oliveira

Ali Abdelaziz shuts down rumored UFC 297 rematch between Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira: “Please don’t listen to people that can’t even get credentials”

Fernando Quiles - November 5, 2023

The manager for Islam Makhachev, Ali Abdelaziz, has blasted a report claiming a UFC lightweight title rematch with Charles Oliveira is targeted for January 2024. Ariel Helwani recently reported that the plan is for Makhachev vs. Oliveira 2 to headline UFC 297. Here’s what Helwani reported on his X account:

Islam Makhachev

Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva to fight for the vacant women’s bantamweight title at UFC 297, Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira 2 in the works

Chris Taylor - November 4, 2023

Dana White and company are planning to rebook the Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira rematch for January’s UFC 297 event in Toronto. Makhachev (25-1 MMA) and Oliveira (34-9 MMA) originally collided for the promotion’s vacant lightweight title at UFC 280 in October of 2022, with the Dagestani fighter emerging victorious by way of second round submission.