Islam Makhachev News

BJ Penn Staff - May 13, 2025

If Islam Makhachev moves up to the UFC welterweight division, he will find himself in the crosshairs of most of the weight class’s top fighters. That includes former champ Kamaru Usman. Makhachev is currently the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC. He earned that lofty position as the promotion’s lightweight champion. He won the belt with a submission over the great Charles Oliveira in 2022, and has since defended the belt four times: twice against Alexander Volkanovski, and later against Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano.

Cole Shelton - May 13, 2025

Jack Della Maddalena doesn’t expect Islam Makhachev to be a welterweight for long. Della Maddalena became the UFC’s welterweight champion on Saturday with a hard-fought decision win over Belal Muhammad. After the fight, Makhachev confirmed he would be moving up to welterweight to try and get the second belt and become a champ-champ.

BJ Penn Staff - May 13, 2025

Islam Makhachev has ambitions to reign over two UFC weight classes at once. His long-time friend and training partner Daniel Cormier is urging him to be cautious as he pursues this goal. Makhachev is already the UFC lightweight champion. He won the division’s coveted belt with a submission win over Charles Oliveira in 2022, and has since defended it four times. His first two defenses came against featherweight legend Alexander Volkanovski. Since then, he has defended the belt with finishes of Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 13, 2025

Islam Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez thinks Islam Makhachev will prove that Jack Della Maddalena simply isn’t on his level. Makhachev is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, and he might get to try his hand at double-champ status. Jack Della Maddalena defeated Makhachev’s training partner Belal Muhammad to capture the UFC Welterweight Championship this past Saturday. This now leaves the door open for Maddalena vs. Makhachev.

Cole Shelton - May 12, 2025

UFC welterweight contender Sean Brady believes Jack Della Maddalena vs Islam Makhachev will be a closer fight than people think. Della Maddalena became the UFC welterweight champion on Saturday with a decision win over Belal Muhammad. After the win, Makhachev called to get that fight to try and become a champ-champ. If that is indeed the next fight, it would be an intriguing matchup, and Brady believes it’s a closer fight than people think.

BJ Penn Staff - May 12, 2025

Just moments after winning the UFC welterweight title last weekend, Jack Della Maddalena was on the phone with the promotion’s CEO Dana White to discuss his next move. Australia’s Della Maddalena won the title in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 315 card in Montreal, defeating Belal Muhammad by decision in a thrilling five-round scrap.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 12, 2025

Paddy Pimblett has reacted to Jack Della Maddalena’s UFC welterweight title win over Belal Muhammad. The main event of UFC 315 had major implications for not just the welterweight division, but the 155-pound weight class as well. A successful title defense for Muhammad would’ve likely meant a showdown between UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria. Following Maddalena’s title win, however, the door is now open for Makhachev to attempt double-champ status.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 11, 2025

Islam Makhachev has dropped a stern warning for Jack Della Maddalena. Maddalena is the newly minted UFC Welterweight Champion. He demonstrated solid takedown defense, movement, and striking to prevent Belal Muhammad from having the success he’d been used to. While Muhammad was always in the fight, Maddalena was a step or two ahead of him most times. It led to a unanimous decision victory for Maddalena, who is the first UFC champion born in Perth.

BJ Penn Staff - May 6, 2025

Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. The same can be said of his close friend and training partner Islam Makhachev. According to long-time UFC commentator Joe Rogan, there’s a reason for that. Rogan got to talking about Khabib and Islam during a recent episode of his popular podcast.

Harry Kettle - May 3, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan heavily implied that he still wants to collide with Islam Makhachev after his win at Karate Combat last night. On Friday night, Arman Tsarukyan grappled against Makasharip Zaynukov at Karate Combat 54 in Dubai. It served as the first time that he’s been in active competition since withdrawing from his title fight against Islam Makhachev, which was scheduled to take place at the start of the year. Alas, Arman was able to rebound well here, defeating Zaynukov in a tight and tense affair.

Harry Kettle - May 3, 2025

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier has questioned those who have called for Islam Makhachev to be stripped of his lightweight championship. For a while now, fans have been wondering what’s next for Islam Makhachev. The lightweight king is easily one of the best fighters in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and he’s starting to be talked about as one of the best of all time. Regardless of whether or not you agree with that assessment, his body of work speaks for itself.

Harry Kettle - May 2, 2025

UFC star Charles Oliveira’s coach Diego Lima has admitted that he prefers the Ilia Topuria fight ahead of an Islam Makhachev rematch. As we know, Charles Oliveira is easily one of the most popular fighters on the roster – and in all of mixed martial arts. The man known as ‘Do Bronx’ is a former champion, he’s an all-time lightweight great, and he’s still a handful for just about any other fighter at 155 pounds. In terms of what’s next, there are plenty of rumors out there – with one of the big ones being that he will battle Ilia Topuria in the latter’s debut at lightweight.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 27, 2025

Ian Machado Garry believes there’s a path to facing the No. 1 pound-for-pound UFC fighter Islam Makhachev. At the moment, Garry is the No. 7-ranked welterweight, while Makhachev holds the UFC Lightweight Championship. Makhachev has made it clear that his ultimate goal is to win the UFC welterweight gold to become a two-division champion. One holdup is that his teammate Belal Muhammad is the reigning 170-pound titleholder.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 24, 2025

Belal Muhammad doesn’t see how a clash with Ilia Topuria benefits Islam Makhachev. The lightweight title picture isn’t short on contenders, but some are wondering what the next championship fight at 155 pounds will be. Topuria recently vacated the UFC Featherweight Championship to move up in weight. While Topuria challenging Makhachev for the lightweight gold figures to be a lucrative bout, the champion’s team is opposed to fighting another featherweight.

Harry Kettle - April 24, 2025

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad has revealed whether or not he’d fight Islam Makhachev if he came up to 170 pounds. As we know, Belal Muhammad is the reigning, defending champion in the welterweight division. He won the gold by defeating Leon Edwards in what proved to be a fairly one-sided affair. Now, at UFC 315, he looks set to defend his strap against Jack Della Maddalena in what promises to be an entertaining, competitive encounter.

Cole Shelton - April 23, 2025

Ian Machado Garry would like to test himself against Islam Makhachev if the lightweight champ moves up to welterweight. Makhachev has been rumored to want to pursue a second belt and has shown interest in going up to welterweight. If the lightweight champ does move up to welterweight, it’s likely he will get an immediate title shot. But, after that, Garry says he wants to fight Makhachev as he wants to test himself against the best.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 21, 2025

Islam Makhachev’s team hasn’t been too keen on a potential Ilia Topuria fight, and one highly ranked UFC lightweight thinks he knows why. Makhachev is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion. Many have argued that he should already be on the move to the welterweight division, but Makhachev feels there’s still work to be done at lightweight. It appears he’d rather his next title defense be a rescheduling of the Arman Tsarukyan bout or Justin Gaethje rather than Topuria.

Cole Shelton - April 16, 2025

Ilia Topuria is confident his next fight will be against Islam Makhachev. Topuira vacated his featherweight title as he planned to move up to lightweight. The thought was that he would face Makhachev for the belt right away. However, the lightweight champ has said he doesn’t want to fight Topuria and instead believes he needs to get a win first.