Michael Bisping wants to see Islam Makhachev make even more history.
Makhachev already owns the record for the most successful UFC title defenses at 155 pounds with four, and is currently reigning over the 170-pound division with two successful defenses to his name. Currently, MMA Fighting’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter awaits the winner of the UFC 337 interim title co-main event matchup between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales to determine his next challenger.
If Makhachev wins another welterweight
championship fight, Bisping doesn’t see why Makhachev shouldn’t get the chance to chase middleweight gold.
“He says he’s almost done,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “One of his last fights. So say he has this one, let’s say he beats the winner of Prates and Morales. So then he’s got two defenses at welterweight, four defenses at lightweight, that moving up to 185 and trying to become the triple champ? I like the sound of that.
“And if anyone deserves it, it is Islam Makhachev. Remember, Alex Pereira was just granted that opportunity to go up to heavyweight and fight Ciryl Gane.”
Makhachev appears to have presented a timeline for his closing act, tweeting “My next fight is one of the last in my career.” He turned 35 in October and is unquestionably at the top of his game, recently defeating Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 to extend his current win streak to 17.
Bisping sees only a few immediate options for Makhachev at 170 pounds, so a potential clash with middleweight champion Sean Strickland makes sense to him.
“You can’t say that Islam Makhachev hasn’t earned that opportunity also,” Bisping said. “Granted, there is other people in the welterweight division. Obviously, there’s Shavkat Rakhmonov out there, but that would be it. That would be it right now. He’s beat Ian Machado Garry, the winner of Prates and Morales is who he will be fighting. So other than Shavkat Rakhmonov who may or may not ever fight again—I hope that he does, I keep seeing rumors that he’s going to be in a matchup sometime soon—but other than moving up to 185, Islam Makhachev would have really done it all.
“And if Sean Strickland is still the champion, that would be a good matchup. I’m not saying he beats Sean, Khamzat [Chimaev] couldn’t beat Sean, but Islam wouldn’t get tired at 185, because that’s what Khamzat did.”
In regards to Makhachev being criticized for not fighting sooner so that he can face both Prates and Morales next year instead of only having to fight one of them, Bisping applauds Makhachev for his career guile.
“It reminded me of a scene from Enter the Dragon with Bruce Lee, where Bruce Lee’s on the boat at the start of the movie and then, like, the Australian guy goes over, ‘What’s your style?’” Bisping said. “And then [Lee] says, ‘The art of fighting without fighting.’ And he’s like, ‘Show me some.’ And he puts him on a boat and he leaves him off out to sea. Deals with a problem without having to fight him.
“That’s kind of what Islam Makhachev is doing here. He’s allowing them to fight each other, so it’s the art of fighting without fighting. The man has earned the right to do that. He does have the ability and has earned the right to pick and choose his opponents and take a little bit of time.”
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