Islam Makhachev’s coach thinks he has a very good chance of becoming a three-weight UFC champion.
The lightweight king submitted Renato Moicano inside one round to defend his title at UFC 311, which took place at the Intuit Dome in California on Saturday night.
Islam Makhachev is the consensus pound-for-pound number one in MMA, and fans are keen to see him move through the divisions to test himself against bigger men.
A fight with welterweight champion Belal Muhammad would be the logical next step, but they are training partners who would prefer to avoid that matchup.
Islam Makhachev predicts ‘fantastic’ Dricus du Plessis matchup
After UFC 311, Makhachev shocked everyone by making a bold call out. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé asked for a fight with middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, who cuts weight to make 185lbs for his UFC bouts.
Many people think the 30lb weight difference would be too much for Makhachev if he fought ‘DDP’ – but his head coach has backed him to become the first three-weight UFC champion.
“I could see Islam going for three titles in three weight divisions,” Javier Mendez told Submission Radio.
“He’s capable, although 185 would be a lot tougher, he still has the ability.
“He has the strength, too, I can tell you that. He is one of the strongest guys I’ve ever had to handle at his weight. Tussling with him, I’m like, ‘Damn, this guy is strong. Really, really strong.
“Fantastic. He’d go fantastic [against Du Plessis].”
Islam Makhachev spars heavyweights
Makhachev has no problems facing bigger opponents in training. In fact, he spars heavyweights, even though the American Kickboxing Academy founder hates it when he does that.
Mendez added: “I’ve seen him go with heavyweights in the gym that are really good and he’s whooping on them.
“I don’t like it because when he’s going with heavyweights, I go, ‘What are you doing with heavyweights? You shouldn’t be going with heavyweights.’
“It was in Dagestan, and he goes, ‘No, coach, it’s okay’. I go, ‘No, it’s not okay. Because if those guys land one good shot on you, it can change everything.”
Du Plessis is due to defend his middleweight strap at UFC 312 on February 8. Once he’s got through his rematch with Sean Strickland, top contender Khamzat Chimaev, who doubts Makhachev’s ability to compete at 185lbs, is next in line for a title shot.
It seems highly unlikely that Makhachev will be allowed to skip the queue if he moves up two weight classes. Still, fans are excited about the prospect of him pushing himself to the limit in 2025 and beyond.
Only time will tell if he can become the first three-weight UFC champion as Mendez predicts.