Despite being one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet, outside of the UFC Octagon, Islam Makahchev lives a calm life on his farm.
Islam Makhachev successfully defended his lightweight title for a record-breaking fourth time when he submitted Renato Moicano in the first round of their UFC 311 main event.
Following his win, the lightweight champion audaciously called out the middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis as he stated he wants to make more UFC history by becoming a triple champion.
Islam Makhachev baffled by reporter’s question following UFC 311
Ahead of Makhachev’s fight, footage went viral online of what seemed to be the Russian wrestling a horse. Of course, Makhachev and his team have been renowned for wrestling with bears, something his head coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov did quite often.
The 33-year-old owns a large farm which includes nearly 1000 animals, including sheep and horses. Following his UFC 311 main event, he was asked if the video was real and if it was actually him.
“A horse?” Makhachev asked confusingly.
“I don’t see this video, no, no. A horse is one of my favorite animals, not wrestling, I am friends with horse,” he hilariously replied.
Makhachev’s thoughts on horses are much different from Shavkat Rakhmonov‘s, who has admitted on several occasions that horse meat is his favorite to eat.
The lightweight champion has hopes of eventually moving up to 170lbs to compete for the title, however, his friend and teammate, Belal Muhammad currently reigns over the division, likely to defend his title against Rakhmonov next.
Makhachev could find himself fighting ‘The Nomad’ for welterweight gold in the not-so-distant future.
What’s next for Islam Makhachev?
With Makhachev already back in training, his manager Ali Abdelaziz has revealed that he won’t be fighting Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, or Ilia Topuria next.
Although he audaciously called out Du Plessis, it is unlikely that he will climb up two weight classes to take on the champion who is scheduled to defend his title at UFC 312.
The fight that makes the most sense for the 33-year-old is for his fight against Tsarukyan to be rebooked but with that off the cards, it is unclear who his next challenge may be.
Justin Gaethje and Dan Hooker have been booked to fight each other in a guaranteed Fight of the Year contender, with the winner potentially climbing to next in line.