Islam Makhachev has conquered a whole new kingdom, and with it, a fresh set of would-be usurpers.
Six months after announcing he was vacating his lightweight title to pursue welterweight gold, Makhachev
completed his mission by beating Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 to become the 11th two-division champion in UFC history. And he made it look easy.
Makhachev already owns the record for most successful UFC lightweight title defenses (four) and he now has the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of legends like Georges St-Pierre, Kamaru Usman, and Matt Hughes, and make a name for himself in the hallowed 170-pound division. He certainly has no shortage of challengers.
Two up-and-coming contenders made loud statements Saturday, with Michael Morales leaping into the top five of our rankings with a first-round drubbing of Sean Brady, and Carlos Prates winning his second straight fight with a stunning one-punch knockout of slumping former champion Leon Edwards. The undefeated Morales appears to have the inside track for a title shot, but Prates is right back in the mix having rebounded in style following a loss to Ian Machado Garry this past April.
Speaking of Garry, he fights Belal Muhammad this Saturday at UFC Qatar and now the pressure is on him to impress if he wants to keep pace with the surging contender line. Welterweight hasn’t been this hot in a while, so let’s hope Makhachev decides to be a fighting champion to keep the division moving.
Then again, there’s always the chance he ends up fighting Usman. The two share management, have both mentioned meeting in a title bout, and Usman is a legend any champion would love to add to their résumé. Add in the UFC needing big names for its upcoming White House event, and it almost makes too much sense for this to happen, even if it means snubbing a handful of more deserving challengers.
That’s a problem for another day, though. Right now, Islam Makhachev can savor once again having made history (did we mention he also tied Anderson Silva’s UFC record for consecutive wins at 16?) and knowing that he holds all the cards in what is once again one of MMA’s most intriguing divisions.
Check out MMA Fighting’s updated 170-pound rankings below.
