Dana White wishes Islam Makhachev was a little bit more active.
Last month, during UFC 333, the UFC announced that, despite rumors to the contrary, welterweight champion Islam Makhachev is not defending his title against Carlos Prates at UFC 336 in January. Instead, Prates faces Michael Morales for an interim belt while Makhachev waits to compete until after Ramadan.
When he later explained the decision to create an interim title, UFC CEO Dana White seemed a bit annoyed with the top pound-for-pound
fighter in the sport, and speaking with The Mac Life on Wednesday, White addressed the Makhachev situation in further detail.
“Yeah, it was verbally agreed to,” White said. “Whenever I told you [is when he pulled out].
“I think when you get to a position where he’s at and what he’s accomplished, who knows what he’s thinking or what he wants to do next? But, obviously, I like when guys fight a lot. Being the champ, I don’t really expect you to fight three times a year, but twice would be nice. What you start to do is back up the division, because lots of guys would like a shot at the title.”
Since the announcement, Makhachev has commented a few times, first suggesting that Prates needed to prove himself more, before then teasing a possible retirement in the near future. But for White, the most likely answer for Makhachev’s decision is purely one of means.
“I think it’s money,” White explained. “Once you get so much money — when guys are young and hungry, they want to fight a lot because they want to get paid. But once you start to get enough money, you don’t have to fight all the time.
“And for him, to be fair to Islam, look at what he’s accomplished.”
Makhachev is currently the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighter and is widely considered one of the greatest of his generation. He’s the 11th two-division champion in UFC history and only the fourth fighter in UFC history to successfully defend a title in two weight classes. Since joining the promotion in 2015, Makhachev has amasses a record of 18-1, including two wins last year, a lightweight title defense at UFC 311, and his welterweight title win at UFC 322.
