After defending his UFC lightweight title for the third time this past Saturday at UFC 302, Islam Makhachev revealed his dream next fight, which hasn’t sat well with Arman Tsarukyan.
Islam Makhachev equalled the record for the most amount of title defenses in UFC lightweight history, by defeating Dustin Poirier in the fifth round of their fight of the year contender.
Although ‘The Diamond’ was given the title shot, originally it was offered to Arman Tsarukyan after his dominant win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 300 this past April.
‘Ahalkalakets’ decided to turn down the short turnaround opportunity claiming that he wanted longer to prepare for what would be the biggest fight of his career thus far.
Arman Tsarukyan reacts to Islam Makhachev’s post-UFC 302 comments
Following his huge win over Poirier, the Russian champion stated that it is his ‘dream’ to fight for a second belt, admitting that he would like to fight for the 170lb title next.
Current welterweight champion, Leon Edwards, is scheduled to defend his belt against Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 on July 27. Edwards was previously offered a fight against Makhachev for UFC 300, but Makhachev turned it down as it was during Ramadan.
“It’s my dream, I want to fight for the second belt, I want to feel that energy again because when you defend your belt it’s not the same, I need a new one,” Makhachev revealed in his Octagon interview.
Lightweight number one contender, Tsarukyan, is not thrilled at the thought of the 32-year-old moving up in weight for his next fight, with him potentially missing out on a title shot.
“Congrats to Islam! But don’t try and run away to another division. You’ve only defended your title once against a real lightweight, and I’m next in line,” Tsarukyan said on X.
Islam Makhachev claims a rematch with Tsarukyan ‘doesn’t make sense’
Makhachev and Tsarukyan first met in the Octagon back in 2019, in what was the Armenian’s UFC debut. Since then, the 27-year-old has gone on to win nine fights, with his only loss coming against Mateusz Gamrot.
Despite Tsarukyan’s recent surge up the rankings, Makhachev has claimed that a rematch ‘doesn’t make sense’, but he is willing to do it if it’s what Dana White wants.
“I’m ready man, Dana has my number, just call me and (give me) a new challenge. (A rematch with Tsarukyan) does not make sense, I need a new challenge but if Dana wants it, let’s do it, no problem,” the champion said in the UFC 302 post-fight press conference.
Giving his opinion on the potential of Makhachev moving up, Dana White said in the post-fight press conference, “That’s the fight to make (Makhachev vs Tsarukyan), that’s the fight that needs to happen.”
The promotion will likely wait for the culmination of both UFC 303 and UFC 304 before they consider allowing the Russian to move up to welterweight for his next fight.
Conor McGregor makes his comeback on June 29 taking on Michael Chandler in a welterweight bout. With a win, the Irishman could well earn himself a 170lb title shot, purely because of his star power.
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