Islam Makhachev really enjoys fighting at welterweight.
On Saturday, Makhachev made his 170-pound debut, dominating Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC 322 to claim the welterweight title. It
was Makhachev’s first fight at welterweight and arguably one of the best performances of his career, something the new champion puts down to how great he feels competing at this weight class.
“I swear, I feel different today inside the cage,” Makhachev told the UFC’s About Last Fight program. “When I take him down, I feel I can control that like anyone. I just feel more power, I can hold him, I can do whatever. He defends very well. I know he’s working with some of the coaches to defend submissions and he defends very well, but still, I just take him down and control, very easy.”
Before moving up to welterweight, Makhachev was one of the most accomplished lightweights in UFC history, even setting the title defense record earlier this year (4) when he submitted Renato Moicano at UFC 311. But despite being one of the greatest lightweights of all time, Makhachev says he was actually only competing at a fraction of his full potential there because of the weight cuts.
“Not just myself, but not many fighters recover 100 percent back, because some of the hard weight cuts, it’s not [a lot] of time to recover,” Makhachev said. “Like 25, 30 hours is not enough recover 100 percent. But today I feel different, I feel recovered because I’m not cutting much weight.
“And why I say the life is changed because all your life you have to think about the weight, about the weight cut. Last month, before the fight, you have to control everything. Even you cannot go somewhere with your friends because you’re not eating in the nighttime, you just want to keep the energy to training in the morning. That’s why I felt life is changing, and I’m happy.”
“Maybe 60 [percent], maybe 70 [percent],” Makhachev continued. “Some of the fights, maybe 50. In Australia, this is the baddest day of my life to fight. In Australia, I wake up 7 in the morning, but myself I was fight last, but some of them wake up 5 in the morning and go fight. This is crazy. I wake up and I don’t know if I eat breakfast or not because I have to go to the arena. This is the hardest and baddest day for me to fight in Perth.”
Given his newfound love for 170 pounds, it seems clear that Makhachev’s time at lightweight it over. And as the new welterweight champion, there’s one man who stands out above the others for his first title defense, should he get to choose.
“Today, the two did fight very well, [Michael] Morales and [Carlos] Prates, but I still think Kamaru [Usman] can beat them both. And Kamaru is the biggest. Young fighters are hungry, but Kamaru is still dangerous and one of the best in this game. If you give me the choice and ask me who I want to fight, I will take Kamaru. But it’s not my job. Anyone, I will be ready.”
