“Wait Till Shavkat Take Over”: Islam Makhachev Rethinks Double Champ Ambitions After Belal Claims Title, Fans React

Kishore R | 03/08/2024
“Wait Till Shavkat Take Over”: Islam Makhachev Rethinks Double Champ Ambitions After Belal Claims Title, Fans React

The UFC welterweight title recently changed hands when Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in Manchester. The Palestinian-American dominated the Brit, rag-dolling the former champion for four rounds before the judges gave the decision to Belal. However, this got the lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev rethinking his double-champ ambitions, as he does not want to face his buddy.

Since Makhachev and Belal belong to the same team, they are not willing to face each other in the octagon. Naturally, fans were quick to catch onto this sentiment, although they assured the Russian that Belal would soon get steamrolled by the Kazakh nomad, Shavkat Rakhmonov. In fact, one fan openly stated that Belal would soon lose his belt to Rakhmonov, saying,

“Don’t worry Islam he’s gonna lose it to Shavkat.”

Meanwhile, another fan suggested Makhachev to fight Rakhmonov when he wins the title from ‘Remember The Name’

“You can fight Shavkat when he takes that belt.”

This sentiment seemed pretty common among fans, as one even asked Makhachev to wait until the Kazakh native eventually took over as welterweight champion.

“No worries just wait till shavkat take over.”

Likewise, a fourth fan insisted that Belal would lose his belt in his very next defense.

“It’s ok belal will lose the belt next defense.” 

At the same time, fans were also quick to note that Makhachev would likely defeat Belal at welterweight, as one said,

“Hot take. I think Belal beats Islam at welterweight.”

Being a man of his word, the champion is ready to hand the next title shot to Rakhmonov, albeit in a pretty unwelcoming manner.

Belal Muhammad offers the next opportunity to Rakhmonov; warns the Kazakh

Belal was on cloud nine after he fulfilled his long-sought dream of winning the UFC belt. While most gave him a chance in the wrestling department, Belal left the fans quite impressed as he peppered the champion with sharp jabs and caught Edwards multiple times to outclass him even on the feet.

Dropping his thoughts after his triumph on his YouTube channel, ‘Remember The Show,’ Belal issued a stern warning to Rakhmonov. He took the example of his fight against Sean Brady, and claimed he would not hesitate to end the Kazakh’s career, saying,

“I’m going to go out there and break him, break him. Then they’ll say that about the next guy… By the end of my career, I’m going to be the best welterweight to ever do it. The way to do it, is to walk through these next guys. Shavkat is next…. I’m going to start taking these guy’s zeros. I already took Sean Brady’s 0, Shavkat’s next.”

Can the champion derail the Kazakh hype train and become the greatest WW? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Post Edited By: Shraman Mitra
Belal Muhammad Islam Makhachev Leon Edwards Shavkat Rakhmonov

About the author

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Kishore R

Kishore is a MMA journalist at The SportsRush with over two years of experience and more than 2000 articles to his name. While he is a qualified engineer, he truly enjoys his time crafting stories from the world of mixed martial arts. Old testament in his MMA education, Kishore picked up the sport watching the highlights of 1989’s Fight of the Year bout between Roberto Duran and Iran Barkley and has since been hooked to the controlled violence this sport is capable of. Following MMA for almost a decade and a half, Kishore has an advanced understanding of its tactical nature and uses his love for storytelling to express it with great effect. But most of all, he just wants to see Tony Ferguson bounce back and showcase his old swagger - “IT’S TONY TIME!”

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