Dominant lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has long been vocal about his desire to eventually move up a weight class in order to fight for a second UFC championship title.
However, with his friend and teammate Belal Muhammad currently reigning as the welterweight king, there’s speculation that there could be a conflict of interest behind the scenes.
Khabib Nurmagomedov shares honest opinion on Makhachev vs Muhammad
Islam Makhachev, Belal Muhammad, and Khabib Nurmagomedov share a storied past, with the relationship between the three UFC champions being a key component of their incredible world title success.
However, if Islam Makhachev did decide to move up to welterweight to challenge for a second UFC belt, how would Khabib Nurmagomedov react to his student fighting Muhammad?
Speaking with Henry Cejudo via the Pound-4-Pound Podcast, the iconic ‘Eagle’ would first state that you’d have to ask both men about the matchup, before admitting that his “heart is not okay” with the possibility of his two friends coming to blows inside the UFC octagon.
“If they had asked me to fight with Belal, when I was an active fighter, [my answer would be] no – but for example, Belal and Islam, okay well you’ve got to talk with them [about that].
“My heart, my heart is not okay [with this], it would be hard [for me] to prepare Islam to beat Belal.”
Interestingly, Nurmagomedov would also state “I don’t think that it’s ever going to happen,” whether that means Makhachev will forgo his champ-champ aspirations whilst Muhammad remains champion, is unclear.
Yet the consensus lightweight GOAT would detail one key aspect of the fantasy showdown: “For me, it’s [always] going to be very hard to prepare somebody to beat Belal.
“If you want to beat Belal, I think you have to stop him. Without a stoppage, it’s going to be very hard – what are you going to do? Okay, say if you take him down, it’s very hard to control him for 25 minutes, first of all.
“Second, it’s very hard to dominate him on striking game in all 25 minutes because he mixes it up. He doesn’t stay with you all 25 minutes, he wrestlers and strike, wrestle and strike; he is good.”
Belal Muhammad is expected to face undefeated Kazakh warrior Shavkat Rakhmonov in early 2025, although Nurmagomedov is keen to see ‘Remember the Name’ in there with Cejudo’s podcast co-host, Kamaru Usman.
“I think I want to see [Belal vs Kamaru], I want to see it because Kamaru deserves this – people can say whatever they want, Kamaru deserves this fight.
“Of course, there is Shavkat on the line, but I think if Kamaru beats one guy, somebody like Jack Della Maddalena, he could fight for the title.”
Islam Makhachev’s dream might be to become a two-weight UFC world champion, but that dream is reliant on him defending his lightweight title in January 2025 against Arman Tsarukyan.
Khabib Nurmagomedov will be in Makhachev’s corner for that title rematch, although he’ll have a busy night on his hands with his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov also fighting for bantamweight gold in the co-main event.
UFC 311 goes down live from the Intuit Dome in LA on Saturday, January 18, 2025.