Islam Makhachev Says No to Welterweight: ‘I Don’t Like Fighting Belal or Shavkat Rakhmonov’

The Dagetsani camp finds itself in an awkward position as Islam Makhachev might face a dilemma in the near future. Makhachev will face Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311 and if the lightweight champ emerges victorious, his list of challenges in the 155 lbs category may dwindle significantly. Although moving up to welterweight in an attempt to become the champion in two weight classes seems like the logical next step, he isn’t keen on facing either Belal Muhammad or Shavkat Rakhmonov for that.

“Well, I know both guys. These are not the fights I would like… Both are world-class fighters… they’re going to have a good fight that I’m interested to see.”

For Islam, this situation isn’t just about finding worthy opponents, it’s a complicated balancing act between ambition and loyalty. Belal has been an honorary member of the Dagestani camp for a long time. He had even trained with them for his title fight against Leon Edwards at UFC 304. In fact, Belal had credited Khabib for showing him the way to beat Leon.

So it doesn’t come as a surprise that Islam doesn’t want to fight Belal. This has been a long-standing tradition within their camp. When Khabib was active and a champion in the lightweight division, Islam was happy to be competing in non-title fights.

And now that Islam is the champion, PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov has also openly stated he won’t compete in the UFC’s 155 lbs division or challenge him. Every fighter in the Dagestani camp is just following in Khabib’s footsteps.

The legend himself spoke about this scenario and how awkward it would be for him since he continues to train both of them.

Fighting Belal isn’t an option: Khabib

Speaking to Henry Cejudo on the Pound-4-Pound Podcast, Khabib echoed the fact that such a fight won’t happen in reality –

“If they had asked me to fight with Belal when I was an active fighter, no. But for example, Belal and Islam, okay well you’ve got to talk with them. My heart, my heart is not okay. It would be hard to prepare Islam to beat Belal.”

Khabib ne veut pas voir Islam Makhachev et Belal Muhammad s’affronter.

Il dit également que pour battre Belal il faut le finir, il est très difficile de le dominer sur 25 minutes.pic.twitter.com/zBAUqQ6t57

— ARENA (@MMArena_) December 16, 2024

“I don’t think that it’s ever going to happen,” he said, leaving the door open for speculation about whether Makhachev might hold off on his welterweight aspirations until Belal’s reign comes to an end.

For now, Makhachev’s future remains a mystery. Will he make a trip to middleweight? Rumors of the same had also surfaced a few months ago but middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis had shut them down. The South African fighter was derogatory in his words, claiming that while it was a great thing for anyone to dream big, Islam needed to be careful what he was wishing for.

So where does this leave Islam? Perhaps his outcome at UFC 311 could go a long way in revealing that.