Islam Makhachev is apparently contemplating retirement, and wants to face the best opposition available on his way out.
The UFC welterweight champion has two strong contenders available: Carlos Prates and Michael Morales. Instead of defending his title at UFC 336 in January, Makhachev (29-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) opted to let Prates (24-7 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and Morales (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) fight for an interim title to set up a title unification bout at a later date.
Makhachev recorded his first welterweight title defense by taking a unanimous decision over Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in August. The interim title fight announcement drew mixed reactions from the MMA community, as some viewed it as the promotion attempting to rush Makhachev back into action,
while others see it as a way for Makhachev to avoid having to fight both contenders.
Friday, Makhachev wrote a brief statement on social media, addressing the situation and his future.
"My next fight is one of the last in my career," Makhachev wrote on X (formerly Twitter). They say Prates is too dangerous for me and Morales is too good for me. So I want to face the best of them and prove to the world once again who is the best in world."
Has Islam Makhachev changed course on retirement?
Ahead of UFC 330, Makhachev, 35, told MMA Junkie that he didn't want to walk away from the sport just yet and that retirement rumors swirling around that fight were unfounded because he wanted to keep living a "champion's life."
"Somebody put the fake news I'm gonna retire after this fight," Makhachev told MMA Junkie. "No, it's not true. I want to keep going, you know? The feeling when you're like staying in shape, becoming best fighter, is amazing thing. You're never gonna find something like this outside the sport. I want to keep fighting and we will beat all records and stay here more years."
Now stating that his next fight will be "one of the last," suggests the two-division UFC champion may call it a career sooner than anticipated, much like his close friend and coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Islam Makhachev wants toughest contender for 'one of the last' fights in career
