Islam Makhachev has never been in the business of picking his opponents so it really doesn’t matter much to him who’s next in line after he dispatched Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330.
The two leading candidates for a title shot at the always exciting Carlos Prates and fast-rising star Michael Morales, who were both seated cage side for the main event from Philadelphia on Saturday. Both fighters have a legitimate argument about getting a championship opportunity but Makhachev believes there was an easy way to solve that problem and the UFC blew it.
“Let them fight,” Makhachev said at the UFC 330 post-fight press conference. “Why are they not fighting on this card to see who is the No. 1 contender? It’s OK.
“We have some real contenders in this division. These guys Morales, Prates, Shavkat [Rakhmonov], they make me training everyday more harder. Because I see this is the real fighters who can give me good fights.”
Of course, the UFC could still book Prates vs. Morales and then book the winner against Makhachev but that would likely drag into 2027 and the reigning welterweight champion just doesn’t want to wait that long.
Truth be told, Makhachev was already a little disappointed that he had to wait until August to compete again because he was hoping to get at least two fights in this year. Makhachev still hopes to achieve that goal with a potential return in November or December as he seeks to up his overall activity.
“Because I am not 20 something,” Makhachev said about his urgency to compete sooner than later. “I am 34 years old. I have to fight as soon as possible because I don’t cut much weight, I don’t have any big injuries, just have to double check my nose, that’s it.
“Before this fight, also, I gave my approval to fight at the White House. It’s a long story why I’m not there but I [said] at the beginning of the summer, I want to fight, I called Ali [Abdelaziz], I called everybody, I want to fight. It’s not something I chose and I made.”
Obviously, Makhachev didn’t get his wish to compete on the UFC White House card but following the win over Garry he has options available to him. More than any specific name, Makhachev just wants to book another fight so he can defend his title before 2026 comes to a close.
Will the UFC grant his wish? Only time will tell.