If one man close to Islam Makhachev is to be believed, the UFC lightweight champion could be approaching the end of the road.
As it stands, the Dagestani is gearing up for a new chapter in his career. Makhachev will vacate the lightweight title ahead of a move up to the welterweight division this year.
Awaiting the dominant 155-pound king at 170 pounds is recently crowned UFC champion Jack Della Maddalena, who outlasted Belal Muhammad to take the crown at UFC 315.
But even before his stint in a new weight class gets underway, a former fighter who knows Makhachev well has predicted a quick exit.
Josh Thomson predicts Islam Makhachev will only defend the UFC welterweight title once
During a recent episode of his Weighing In podcast, former Strikeforce champion and UFC contender Josh Thomson looked ahead to Makhachev’s major career adjustment.
‘The Punk’ knows the Dagestani fighter well, having trained alongside him and the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov at the renowned American Kickboxing Academy gym in San Jose, California.
And like Nurmagomedov did, Thomson is expecting to see Makhachev hang up the gloves while on top.
“I think he’ll defend it [the UFC welterweight] title one time [before retiring],” Thomson said. “I also believe it’s gonna probably be a Shavkat [Rakhmonov], maybe a Sean Brady if Sean Brady gets past…Ian Garry, there’s talk that they’re scheduled to fight.
“If it ends up being an Ian Garry, I don’t know if he’ll do it. I think he’ll probably just be like, ‘Okay, I’m good.’ I think he wants to fight guys that want to fight, not run around.
“34 years old, he understands that the time is coming. He’s somebody that doesn’t want to take a bad loss,” Thomson added. “He wants to be able to go out on his own terms.”
What Islam Makhachev has said about retirement
When it comes to the man himself, the dominant lightweight champion has remained coy about a potential timeline for his career’s conclusion.
Before Makhachev submitted Renato Moicano at UFC 311 in what will go down as his final title defense at 155 pounds, the Russian standout was asked about retirement during an interview with Demetrious Johnson.
“You know what my opinion is,” Makhachev said. “It’s not like records, it’s not like age.
“My opinion is, I go to the gym, and I told you, all the kids want to show something to me. And when I understand I cannot stop the people, I cannot compete with the young guys, then I’m thinking about [retiring]
“But right now, it’s not time to talk about this because I know I can do more, and I improve [in] all my fights,” Makhachev added.
For now, Makhachev will have his full focus on conquering another UFC championship by making Della Maddalena’s reign a short one.
But perhaps the Dagestani will join his friend and mentor Nurmagomedov in the coaching realm sooner rather than later.