“I probably only got a couple more left before I can start talking about the bums at 185.” Belal Muhammad has seemingly given the golden opportunity for Islam Makhachev’s dream of becoming a double champion and doing something that Khabib Nurmagomedov never did. But being one of the close associates of the Dagestani team, Muhammad could not afford to fight Makhachev upon the lightweight’s move to the welterweight division. But now, the fighting community can start visualizing Makhachev as a welterweight.
It was probably because Makhachev previously revealed that becoming a champ-champ was his dream and he simply couldn’t exit the sport without a second belt. But since Muhammad and Makhachev had the same manager, Ali Abdelaziz, things were a bit easier to sort out, don’t you think? Well, the welterweight champion had previously suggested that Makhachev should instead try to fight Dricus Du Plessis. And if Muhammad goes back on his word, it might be the only way for the lightweight champ to achieve his dream.
During a recent episode of Javier Mendez Podcast, the co-host Len reflected on an interesting thing that he read. And it was indeed about Muhammad’s desire to move up to the middleweight division. As soon as Mendez heard that, he exclaimed, “If Belal is interested in going to 185, that would be superb.” But there was still a problem. In order to let Makhachev have a chance at the welterweight championship title, Muhammad would have to stay as a middleweight for quite some time. But what did the AKA coach think of that?
Mendez put forth the situation where the UFC offered Makhachev a fight against Dricus Du Plessis. That would be when Makhachev would ask for a fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov. Well, if Muhammad were to move up to the middleweight realm, Rakhmonov would definitely be in line to claim the title. And Mendez wouldn’t even try to stop the LW champ.
The AKA coach continued, “Because Islam, he already broke the record for most title defenses. 4, you know, total 5 lightweight titles. But he broke it for record with 4. So if they offer that and Belal goes up, fantastic.” And if Belal Muhammad failed to move up in the weight class, Islam Makhachev would have to fight at 185 pounds. And that would be pretty tough. Mendez said, “Because otherwise than that, I mean, for Islam to go 185, he’d have to put on some muscle. He’s strong enough, but I just don’t know about the weight. He got to put on some muscle.”
While the dream still lives on, back in January, Chael Sonnen declared that the UFC big guns wouldn’t really let Makhachev take on a title fight in the heavier divisions. While the entire fanbase was getting excited about Makhachev’s second title run, why did Sonnen believe that it was just a dream? Let’s find out!
UFC veteran gives Islam Makhachev a reality check on his dreams
Well, the one thing that moved the fighting world was the bad blood between the fighters. The trash talk increased the hype around their fights as the fighting community waited in anticipation for the fighters to settle their scores in the Octagon. However, there wasn’t any bad blood between Rakhmonov and Makhachev. And that’s what ‘The American Gangster’ based his talk upon. He said, “I don’t think there’s any legitimate beef between [Shavkat] Rakhmonov and Islam. And I know that Belal and Islam are not going to do that. They’ve got the Khabib tie-in and it doesn’t matter if that’s five years deep or five months deep, once it’s there it’s there.”
Even Khabib Nurmagomedov declared that training Makhachev to fight Muhammad wouldn’t be really difficult for him. It simply wasn’t right, according to him. If he was in Makhachev’s stead, he claimed that he would never accept a fight against Muhammad. After all, relationships were way too important for the Dagestani team. There was no way they could go against a brother. But even if Muhammad exited the WW division, Sonnen believed that the UFC still wouldn’t let Makhachev fight in a different weight class. ‘The Bad Guy’ continued, “And simply Islam won’t be given the opportunity… But as far as even getting an opportunity to have another belt, I do not believe that will happen for him. I don’t think he has the charisma to go out and do what needs to be done to get that play.”
Needless to say, watching Makhachev fight as a welterweight and strive for an even greater legacy is something that the fight fans want. The UFC head honcho, Dana White, has also declared that while sending him to the middleweight realm was nigh on impossible, they can still talk about the move to the welterweight class. And because of Muhammad’s move, it can now turn into reality.
What do you think of the lightweight champion’s desire to become a UFC double champion? Do you think it can happen in 2025? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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