Islam Makhachev takes a shot at Conor McGregor during post fight interview at UFC Vegas 49 on Saturday after making quick work of Bobby Green.
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No. 4 ranked lightweight Islam Makhachev hardly broke a sweat as he romped to a TKO victory over Bobby Green in the first round itself. Green took the fight on short notice and failed to overcome his Dagestani opponent. However, in the post fight interview he said that a proper training camp ahead of their bout may have tipped the scales in his favor.
Speaking on his performance Islam said:
“I told you guys couple of days ago what will happen. The result is the same, i feel good don’t have injuries, nothing very happy. I was preparing for a different fight and I was training hard for that,”
Makhachev however, was looking to the future. Given his close ties with former Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, it was no surprise that Makhachev was asked about a potential fight with McGregor. However, the Russian laughed it off claiming that he would easily take down the former two-division champion.
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“Honestly, I don’t remember when this guy beat someone,” Makhachev said. “He have to come back, beat someone, and then … let’s go, why not? I’m gonna smash him like easy. Bobby Green is gonna be hard for me more than him.”
Makhachev finished Green with a ground-and-pound TKO at 3 minutes, 23 seconds of the first round after referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the match. With this victory he now has a record of 21-1 with a win streak of 10 consecutive matches.
This puts him in good stead for a potential shot at the UFC lightweight title. Who he will face for it however, is far from guaranteed ahead of the lightweight title fight between champion Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje at UFC 273 in Brazil.
“I think is going to be a good fight because those guys are high level,” Makhachev said ahead of the lightweight championship clash. “Charles improved his striking game and he have more than Justin in the ground game. I think they going to strike a little bit, then Charles is going to take him down, take his back and finish him there. Like third round, or second round.”
Makhachev himself was chomping at the bits on the prospect of facing Oliveira.
“I think it’s going to be good match,” he said. “Because this guy’s good in the striking and grappling and wrestling. I’m going to make him tired, pressure him, and make him give up. Because this guy, I know like when somebody go with him three or four rounds and give him hard punch and hard time, and he can finish some people with choke. When he do not do this, he give up all the time. But I have grappling skills more than him.”
Despite his eagerness to win the title however, Makhachev was not willing to step in as a replacement should either of the fighters fail to compete in the Lightweight title bout.
“For step in, we have some guys like dos Anjos or Michael Chandler,” he said. “I’m deserving. I have 10 fight win streak in the last 11 months. I’ve been training so hard. Next week I’m ready for fight. Next pay-per-view show. But I deserve a little bit of notice. I want to fight in Abu Dhabi, I have many of my friends, my family, my friends who stay outside because they cannot come to Apex. I want to fight for the title in Abu Dhabi when all my fans can support me.”
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