Islam Makhachev knows he’ll have plenty of options awaiting him with a win over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322, but he has one specific name in mind when looking at the top welterweight contenders.
After
breaking the record for the most title defenses at lightweight with four in a row, Makhachev relinquished that belt and now takes a stab at 170 pounds. If he’s successful on Saturday night, Makhachev believes a former champion like Kamaru Usman actually makes the most sense for his next opponent, especially when he looks at the overall lay of the land in the division and who’s available.
“Who is close [to a title shot]?” Makhachev said during UFC 322 media day. “Shavkat [Rakhmonov] is injured I heard. Sean Brady? Saturday I think we’ll know one of the contenders.
“Why I said [Kamaru] Usman, he’s the biggest name in welterweight. [He] defended the belt. He’s a big name, and he’s in a good position right now. He beat [Joaquin] Buckley, who is one of the contenders also.”
Of course that acknowledgment likely makes Usman very happy after he already called for the chance to face the winner of the UFC 322 main event with eyes on Makhachev as an ideal opponent to make the biggest fight possible for the promotion.
“I think [with me and Islam] it’s obviously both former pound-for-pound [No. 1 ranked fighters], I don’t think in history it’s ever happened where they go at it,” Usman told MMA Fighting. “So I think that’s a humongous fight.
“I think it’s the biggest for sure. You want one of those fights. You want one of those fights that really elevates the division. That really puts the division on the forefront when everyone knows there’s a welterweight matchup coming up, everyone pays attention. I think this is that fight, myself and Islam.”
Obviously welterweights like Sean Brady and Michael Morales, who are also fighting at UFC 322, as well as Ian Machado Garry and Belal Muhammad — set as the co-main event at UFC Qatar — might have something to say about that after their upcoming fights.
Outside of Usman as a potential opponent, Makhachev also addressed the possibility that he could finally face off with Ilia Topuria in the future.
Before leaving the lightweight division, Makhachev was expected to face Topuria in a title defense but after Muhammad lost his belt to Della Maddalena, that opened the door for him to finally make the move to welterweight. Makhachev never wanted to face Muhammad as they had become close friends and training partners in recent years.
Once that obstacle was cleared, Makhachev relinquished his 155-pound title and now challenges Della Maddalena at UFC 322 but he hasn’t forgotten about Topuria.
“Ilia is the champion now at lightweight but we’ll see,” Makhachev said. “He keeps talking about the fight against me. After that fight, let’s see. We will do some things. Because everyone wants this fight so we will speak about this after.”
