The current lightweight champion and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev has given some stellar performances in the UFC. Makhachev defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 and claimed the title. He later defeated Alexander Volkanovski twice at UFC 284 and UFC 294.
With a 25-1-0 professional fighting record, the Russian fighter is never devoid when it comes to his opponents. With that being said, in the first half of this year, Arman Tsarukyan called out the Dagestani. He had set his eyes on Makhachev and his lightweight title. He was ranked #8 then in the lightweight division.
In an interview with Red Corner MMA about five months back, Makhachev was questioned about Tsarukyan as his next contender. The fighter shared his response by expressing that Tsarukyan needed to prove himself before getting a title fight. He said,
“It’s time for him to prove himself with his fights. I don’t know. I won’t judge him. Let him fight and win. Maybe he’ll get the title fight.”
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Arman Tsarukyan recently emerged victorious over Beneil Dariush at UFC Austin. Moreover, post his win against Dariush, he called out Makhachev for the title fight. Makhachev on the other hand not just rejected Tsarukyan but three other top five fighters as a threat to his title.
When we look at who should Makhachev be fighting next, it is very obvious to think of Charles Oliveira. Moreover, the 32-year-old fighter can also take on #2 Justin Gaethje or #3 Dustin Poirier from the lightweight division.
On the other hand, when we talk about calling out Makhachev, ‘Ahalkalakets’ isn’t the only one fighter to do so.
Colby Covington on fighting Islam Makhachev
There are many who want to fight Makhachev and one of them is the former interim welterweight champion Covington. ‘Chaos’ is set to be scheduled to fight Leon Edwards at UFC 296. As much as he is sure of his win, he has also shared who he is desiring to take on next.
During an interview with James Lynch, Covington expressed his wish to fight Islam Makhachev post his title fight at UFC 296. He said,
“There’s that little Mongoloid. He’s been talking a little bit saying he wants to come up and fight in a real man’s division because he’s in a little boy’s weight class and I’m talking about Islam Makhachev. He’s fighting in a little man’s weight class. He’s fighting little midgets and he’s barely beating midgets. I mean, split decisions, split draws – it’s just pathetic.”
As much as we are excited for the mega UFC 296 event, the chances of Covington vs. Makhachev bout rushes our adrenaline. As nothing as of now has been officially confirmed, we can patiently wait and see how things turn out.
