Islam Makhachev News

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 29, 2025

Charles Oliveira’s manager is calling for Islam Makhachev to vacate the UFC Lightweight Championship if he moves up in weight. Makhachev hasn’t been shy in expressing his desire to challenge for the UFC welterweight title. A big holdup is that his training partner Belal Muhammad is the reigning 170-pound champion. If Muhammad loses the championship, then Makhachev figures to put the wheels in motion to join the welterweight division.

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.

BJ Penn Staff - April 21, 2025

Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena is set to challenge Belal Muhammad for welterweight gold at UFC 315. If he successfully claims the title, he’s got his eyes on an even bigger challenge: Islam Makhachev. UFC 315 goes down on May 10 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Australia’s Della Maddalena is an underdog against the welterweight champion Muhammad, but is one of the better strikers in his division, and has the power to stop any welterweight he faces off with.

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.

Harry Kettle - April 16, 2025

Khabib Nurmagomedov has given his thoughts on who Islam Makhachev’s most competitive fight could be at lightweight. Right now, it’s hard to argue against Islam Makhachev being the best fighter in the UFC – and all of mixed martial arts. He has an incredible resume, he’s beaten some elite names, and he is the reigning UFC lightweight champion. You may not be a big fan of his style in comparison to others, but nobody can deny the body of work that he’s put together.

Cole Shelton - April 11, 2025

Ilia Topuria has made a bold prediction for when he fights Islam Makhachev. Topuria vacated his featherweight title as he announced he’d move up to lightweight. Although many expected him to get an immediate title shot against Islam Makhachev but that hasn’t happened yet. If he does fight Makhachev, he is confident he will be able to take down the champ and submit him.

Josh Evanoff - April 4, 2025

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier believes Islam Makhachev vs. Justin Gaethje is likely next. The UFC lightweight champion last appeared in the octagon in January. While Islam Makhachev was initially slated to face Arman Tsarukyan in Los Angeles, the Armenian was forced out on weigh-in day. As a result, the Russian wound up facing short-notice replacement Renato Moicano. Ultimately, it took just one round for Makhachev to score a submission win over ‘Money Moicano’.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - April 2, 2025

Henry Cejudo believes one UFC legend will play a role in Islam Makhachev’s next fight. Much has been made about what’s next in the UFC lightweight title picture. Ilia Topuria recently vacated the UFC Featherweight Championship. While many assumed “La Leyenda” would get the next crack at Makhachev’s 155-pound gold, UFC CEO Dana White told reporters that it isn’t a guarantee.

Harry Kettle - March 26, 2025

UFC legend Demetrious Johnson has explained why he considers Islam Makhachev to be his current #1 pound-for-pound fighter. Right now, nobody can touch Islam Makhachev. He has achieved some wonderful things in his mixed martial arts career already, and it doesn’t appear as if he’s going to slow down anytime soon. He is the undisputed UFC lightweight champion and as we look ahead to the future, it certainly feels as if he has the upper hand over the majority of contenders in that division. Even if he moved up to welterweight, you’d fancy his chances against plenty of the guys up there.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 24, 2025

One former standup warrior under the UFC banner has made his pick for Islam Makhachev’s next UFC lightweight title challenger. UFC CEO Dana White recently told reporters that Makhachev isn’t short on options when it comes to his next championship defense. The 155-pound ruler has key names such as Justin Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, and of course, Ilia Topuria gunning for his gold. While “El Matador” recently vacated the 145-pound title, it appears he is not guaranteed a crack at the 155-pound championship.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 24, 2025

Joe Rogan has a stunning outlook for a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria fight. When Dana White announced that Topuria is vacating the UFC Featherweight Championship, many thought “El Matador” would get an immediate crack at Makhachev’s lightweight gold. Ariel Helwani even reported that the UFC was looking to book the matchup possibly as early as International Fight Week. White told reporters that Makhachev has other options on the table and that the Topuria fight wasn’t a lock.

Harry Kettle - March 21, 2025

Former UFC champion Kamaru Usman has put forward some ideas for the future of the promotion’s lightweight division. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been incredibly lucky over the last five to ten years or so. There are a couple reasons for that, but one that comes to mind is this: the lightweight division. From top to bottom, the UFC has had an absolutely stacked top 15 and beyond at 155 pounds for the longest time. There are some absolute killers residing at lightweight, and we can’t think when that wasn’t the case.

BJ Penn Staff - March 18, 2025

Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria are two of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC right now, and there is only one man who has fought them both: Alexander Volkanovski. Australia’s Volkanovski has actually fought Makhachev twice, both times for the lightweight title. He lost their first fight with a razor-close decision, and their second by first-round KO. Of course it’s worth noting he took the second fight on short notice. He fought Topuria in his last fight, surrendering the title with a second-round knockout loss. He is perhaps the best win on Makhachev or Topuria’s resume.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 14, 2025

Arman Tsarukyan believes the next UFC lightweight title challenger will be Ilia Topuria. Recently, Dana White announced that the main event of UFC 314 will determine a new UFC Featherweight Champion. Topuria will officially vacate the 145-pound gold once Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes begins. Topuria made the decision to relinquish the featherweight title in favor of moving up to the lightweight division.

Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 13, 2025

When push comes to shove, one UFC Hall of Famer believes that Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria is happening next. Makhachev recently etched his name in the history books. He submitted last-minute replacement opponent Renato Moicano to secure his fourth UFC Lightweight Championship defense. That is the most successful title defenses in UFC lightweight history.