Islam Makhachev confirms interest in defending UFC welterweight title against Kamaru Usman

UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev has confirmed his interest in defending the belt against Kamaru Usman.

As we know, Islam Makhachev is the current UFC welterweight champion. He earned that title courtesy of his dominant win over Jack Della Maddalena, and now, there are plenty of contenders waiting for their opportunity to try and take the belt away from him.

RELATED: Islam Makhachev vs. Kamaru Usman slammed by top UFC welterweight contender

Of course, it will ultimately come down to the promotion, but one leading candidate right now certainly seems to be Kamaru Usman. He has spoken at length about his desire to take on Makhachev, and in the wake of his win over Joaquin Buckley earlier this year, he’s at the very least back in the win column.

In a recent interview, Makhachev made it clear that he would be interested in squaring off with Usman.

Makhachev’s view on possible Usman fight

“I said I wanted to fight Kamaru Usman next,” Makhachev said to Red Corner MMA speaking in Russian. “Although the media doesn’t believe in this fight, as I can see. But in my opinion, Usman would steamroll through these up-and-comers like (Michael) Morales, (Carlos) Prates, the striker. Those guys haven’t been checked yet. I think Usman would be the hardest fight for me, and in terms of media we could build it up like former champion, the most title defenses in my weight division. We could promote this fight and make it fun to watch.”

“Buckley was one of the contenders,” Makhachev said. “Usman simply took him apart and everybody has already forgotten about this guy. But if Buckley won, he would’ve been one hundred percent contender number one.”

“There’s a lot of options for me,” Makhachev said. “My division is really lively now. So there are options. We’ll see. Actually, I don’t care. The UFC will probably offer me someone soon, and I told them that I didn’t care because I feel that I am going to stay in this division for a long time, holding my belt and feeling comfortable.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie