Islam Makhachev has taken over the mantle in the lightweight division from his teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov – and he doesn’t want him to come back.
For years, Makhachev made his way up the ranks quietly while Nurmagomedov was the star player for the pair’s team in the UFC. But in 2020 after the passing of his father Abdulmanap, Khabib made the decision to hang up his gloves in a shock retirement.
After efforts to convince him to come back fell apart, the belt was vacated and eventually picked up by Charles Oliveira. But once Makhachev got in the cage with the Brazilian he landed a second round stoppage to bring the title back to Dagestan.
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Islam Makhachev is heading for UFC record after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement
When Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October of 2020, he equalled the long-standing record for lightweight title defences. He joined Frankie Edgar, Benson Henderson and BJ Penn in maintaining his title for three fights.
And since winning the belt in October of 2022, Islam Makhachev has managed to equal that streak. He defeated Alexander Volkanovski twice before submitting Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 in June, and is now set for a return in January after recovering from a hand injury.
However, there is an asterisk around both of the Russian’s records compared to the other three, given circumstances around their defences. There’s an argument that Nurmagomedov won the title illegitimately by only defeating Al Iaquinta in a hastily-arranged title fight in April of 2018.
It is believed in some circles that his fight with Conor McGregor in 2018 was his first true fight for the belt, given that the Irishman had never lost the belt before being stripped. From there, his wins over Poirier and Gaethje would be his first and second defences.
As for Makhachev, the legitimacy of Alexander Volkanovski as a contender is called into question. For their first fight, the featherweight champion had seemed genuinely unbeatable at 145lb, and was making a serious push for a second belt.
However, their second bout was hastily thrown together when an initially planned rematch with Oliveira was cancelled ue to injury. Volkanovski stepped up but in clearly lesser shape than first time around, and was viciously knocked out.
Islam Makhachev offers positive update on hand injury
Despite all of the above, Makhachev does appear to be heading towards a record-breaking fight against Arman Tsarukyan next January. He has already defeated the top contender once before, but it is expected to be a much tougher task this time around.
They were tentatively pencilled in for UFC 308 this month, but during his UFC 302 victory over Poirier, Makhachev appeared to have injured his hand. But he now seems to be healthy again, telling Match TV that he is about to be back training on it.
Asked about his plans for a comeback and when his hand will be healed, Makhachev said: “I think January is just right. My arm is practically not bothering me, I can already start training.”
Islam Makhachev claims he doesn’t want ‘competition’ from Khabib Nurmagomedov
For his world title fights, Makhachev has been coached by Nurmagomedov. The pair regularly train together, and it is believed that the former champion still spars to a very high level with competitors throughout the weight divisions.
However, he has never indicated that he has any interest in a comeback fight, recently explaining during a fan event that he has minimal interest. He was asked about a potential return and replied that “there is no chance, none. Not even 1 per cent, minus [chance].”
And Makhachev has a similar feeling, although his is not quite altruistic. In a simply practical sense, he joked with Match TV when quizzed on if he would convince his teammate to make the walk again: “No! Why do I need this? I don’t need extra competition.”
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