Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) wanted Islam Makhachev to defend his 170-pound title against No. 1 contender Carlos Prates at UFC 336 next January in Toronto. Makhachev passed on the offer, forcing matchmakers to book Prates against No. 3-ranked Michael Morales for the interim strap.
UFC CEO Dana White was clearly displeased with the situation, but select fighters have come to the defense of Makhachev.
“Islam Makhachev is right on this one, I was thinking the same thing,” former UFC bantamweight
champion, Henry Cejudo, said on his Pound 4 Pound podcast. “If I was Islam, I’d be like, ‘How come these guys don’t fight each other? Let me fight the best dude.’ He said that before in the past in his press conferences. So, it was already premeditated with Islam since the beginning if you think about it. Because Dana White said there was no reason why, but I agree with Islam. As the champion, you want the No. 1 contenders to fight each other. I personally like this even better than either one of them fighting Islam because now we get a chance to see who is going to fight Islam Makhachev. Michael Morales and Carlos Prates, that’s a main event on its own. That’s a pay-per-view main event.”
White recently said he doesn’t say no to accomplished champions and Makhachev is about as decorated as you can get, winning titles in two different weight classes and setting a record for consecutive wins dating back to Oct. 15. In addition, Morales has not thrown a single punch in 2025 and Prates has only competed once since last year.
“When you get to that level, you get a little bit more picky and choosy, as you should. I’m not going to hate on Islam being picky and choosy about this fight,” retired UFC welterweight, Matt Brown, told MMA Fighting. “Is [the interim title] the UFC trying to punch Islam in the gut? That’s what it feels like here. That’s what I feel is our distaste for this particular situation. I don’t know what the behind the scenes conversation was, but if he’s clear to them ‘I’m going to fight in March, April, June, July’ whatever it is, then that’s totally fair. He’s earned that right to pick when he fights. I didn’t really think [Islam] would get into the politics of who needs to beat who but come on, an interim title? He just fought what, two months ago? Two months ago. We don’t need to do this. The interim title’s not going to mean anything.”
Keep grinding, kid.
