Islam Makhachev secured arguably the most impressive win of his career at UFC 294. Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protege secured a brilliant head kick knockout at 3 minutes 6 seconds of the very first round against Alexander Volkanovski. After the fight, he did not call out anyone, instead he stated that it was Dana White’s job to find him an opponent. However, his recent response to a tweet from MMA Uncensored might suggest that he has an idea of what he wants next. Whether or not it comes to fruition, only time will tell.
Makhachev accepted an 11-days short-notice fight against Volkanovski after initially being booked to face Charles Oliveira. Going into the fight, Islam repeated time and time again that he would not let the fight go the distance. With the win, Islam has firmly cemented himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC.
Islam Makhachev aims to surpass Khabib Nurmagomedov’s legacy
For Islam Makhachev the opportunities are endless at this point in time. He has a plethora of options to choose from at 155-pounds. What is interesting to note is that this is the second time that he has defended his lightweight belt. This means that he has now tied with his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov on title defenses in the UFC.
However, it appears as though Makhachev wants to take it one step further. MMA Censored shared a quote by Colby Covington on Twitter where he welcomed a fight against Makhachev. The post said,
“Colby Covington says no one at welterweight is “deserving” of a title shot, eyes first title defense against Islam Makhachev.”
Colby Covington says no one at welterweight is “deserving” of a title shot, eyes first title defense against Islam Makhachev. Who wins? #UFC #UFC294 #MMA pic.twitter.com/xxEkTpYrvm
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) September 22, 2023
In response to the post Makhachev commented saying,
“Easy money.”
Easy money 😉 https://t.co/yyp6B15NLU
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) September 23, 2023
If the current lightweight champion manages to capture the welterweight belt he would indeed be able to overtake his mentor Nurmagomedov’s legacy. With all the possible matchups available for him at lightweight, is a fight against Covington realistic?
Colby Covington vs Islam a pipe dream?
Colby Covington has an extremely tough fight ahead of him in Leon Edwards at UFC 296. For any talks of a fight against Covington to take place, he will have to beat Edwards to begin with. For Makhachev, there are two front runners in the 155-pound division in Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira. There is no doubt that a fight between Covington and Makhachev would be extremely successful.
The fight would also have an extremely interesting build-up similar to that of Khabib vs Conor. There is a very strong possibility that the UFC awards Islam a title fight at 170-pounds and sets up a title eliminator between Gaethje and Oliveira. However, this would leave Belal Muhammad in a limbo.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. However, there is strong consensus among fans that Makhachev will challenge for a belt in another weight class before he retires.
