Following this past weekend’s results, Islam Makhachev made a bold statement on social media after outlining his next move.
The lightweight champion claimed that he wouldn’t be vacating his lightweight title in order to move up a weight class.
It has now been confirmed that Makhachev has left the belt behind with Ilia Topuria facing Charles Oliveira for the vacant title at UFC 317.
Meanwhile, the former champion will be facing Jack Della Maddalena following his win over Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 with the matchup taking place in the near future.
It has been said that the UFC is looking to move past the era of simultaneous two-weight champions and this looks to be the case following the major fights that were announced by Dana White.
- READ MORE: Charles Oliveira shares his reaction as his UFC 317 title fight against Ilia Topuria is announced
Henry Cejudo says he’s the last UFC champ-champ now that Islam Makhachev has moved up to welterweight
Since the start of the year, both Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria have vacated their titles after committing to the idea of moving up a weight class to fight for a second belt.
Conor McGregor made UFC history back in 2016 when he became the first fighter to hold titles in two divisions at the same time.
After that, this became the new benchmark for fighters to strive for with three others achieving champ-champ status before the promotion started to crack down on this.
While it is incredibly impressive to see a fighter conquer two divisions at the same time, many fans have called for champions to stay in their respective weight classes where they can achieve a great legacy by producing a dominant title reign instead.
Along with Daniel Cormier and Amanda Nunes, Henry Cejudo was able to hold two belts at the same time after the flyweight champion moved up to bantamweight.
He defended both belts once before taking a three-year hiatus that saw him return to the Octagon in May of 2023 where he was defeated by Aljamain Sterling.
Cejudo stated on social media that following the latest Makhachev update, he will be the last of his kind now that the UFC doesn’t want one fighter to stand at the top of two divisions.
“With Islam Makhachev vacating his belt, I guess that makes me the last fighter to ever be double champ. And I’m Triple champ. You’re welcome #UFC317.”
Amanda Nunes was the only champ-champ who kept hold of both titles
One of the biggest problems with having one fighter hold two belts is that it’s going to slow both divisions down now that they’re sharing a champion.
Conor McGregor didn’t defend either of his belts while Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo only fought at the weight class they moved up to after winning a second title.
Amanda Nunes is the only champ-champ who kept hold of both titles which is partly down to the fact that there wasn’t a stockpile of viable contenders for her to face.
‘The Lioness’ was able to keep both bantamweight and featherweight busy which is not something that Islam Makhachev would be able to do at lightweight and welterweight.