Ahead of his UFC 311 title defense against Arman Tsarukyan, Islam Makhachev has teased a potential fight against his teammate, Belal Muhammad.
On January 18, Islam Makhachev will attempt to break the UFC record for most title defenses in the lightweight division when he takes on 'Ahalkalakets' at UFC 311.
The two first met in 2019 when the Russian won a unanimous decision against Arman Tsarukyan in the Armenian's UFC debut.
UFC 311 will take place from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, but due to the devastating wildfires in LA this week, there is a possibility the event could be moved to Las Vegas.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
The history of Islam Makhachev's feud with Ilia Topuria
Ahead of his title defense at UFC 311, Makhachev has feuded with featherweight champion Topuria.
The feud between the two started in the middle of last year when Ilia Topuria claimed that he would send Makhachev to the hospital if they fought each other in the street.
The 33-year-old's teammates then joined the feud and mocked 'El Matador' by stating that he is not a street fighter, which only increased tensions.
And with that, the featherweight champion declared he would move up to the 155lb division to pursue a potential superfight against Makhachev, and his coach claimed he would be vacating the title.
Despite this, Topuria came out not long after and admitted that he would remain at featherweight for his next fight and that a possible move up would be decided after his next fight.
Makhachev has always been convinced that he has dual championship ambitions himself and has therefore never been particularly interested in a fight against the 27-year-old.
Not only that, but his coach Khabib Nurmagomedov has also stated that it would not be fair for Topuria to move up and fight for a title immediately.
Islam Makhavhev claims that a fight against Belal Muhammad is more likely
If Makhachev manages to break the UFC record for most title defenses in the lightweight division with a win at UFC 311, the odds of him moving up to welterweight next are extremely high.
The lightweight champion previously talked about a possible fight against Leon Edwards when he ruled the 170lb division, but things got a little more awkward when Belal Muhammad dethroned him at UFC 304.
'Remember The Name' is a teammate of Makhachev and he and his team even helped Mohammed prepare for his title-winning fight against Edwards.
Khabib has admitted he wouldn't be comfortable with Makhachev and Mohammed fighting, but the lightweight champion believes this is more likely to happen in 2025 than a fight against Topuria.
“I think (it's more likely I'll fight the winner of Muhammad vs Shavkat Rakhmonov) because Topuria doesn't feel like it. For what? For belt, for money? I have money, I don't need it. I need the second belt,” Makhachev told ShakMMA.
Muhammad's first title defense was scheduled to come against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 last December, but the champion withdrew after breaking his toe and suffering a subsequent bone infection.
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