Months after his fourth successful defense of the lightweight title, the time of Islam Makhachev will end in the 155-pound division if he wants to pursue a long-sought after goal.
In contrast to his mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Makhachev has made his wish to reach two weight clothing about the largest stage of mixed martial arts.
After a lightweight crown at the expense of Charles Oliveira and the subsequent victories over Alexander Volkanovski, Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano, the Dagestani will now say goodbye to his usual strandable ground.
With that, his sights will immediately turn to the newly crowned welterweight champion, Jack della Maddalena. But the Australian is far from the only prominent figure with 170 pounds that rates the arrival of Makhacheve.
Kamaru Usman open for the fight against Islam Makhachev after a goodweight switch
Before Belal Muhammad was pushed off the throne by Della Maddalena in the UFC 315 headliner on Saturday, 'remember the name' had put the talk aside about the opposite Makhachev in the cage because of their relationship and history training together.
While Kamaru Usman also shares a band with his fellow dominance MMA-managed hunter, he would apparently have a different view if the UFC would present a collision with Makhachev against De Lijn.
“It is one of those things we should talk about,” said Usman during an episode of his poundcast of Pound 4 pound next to Henry Cejudo. “That is clearly a blockbuster fight; former pound-for-pound [number one] And the current pound-for-pound champion.
“Islam, I love those guys. Islam, Khabib; I love them all … Friends make friends rich. Hey, if that's the situation, Islam and I are clear enough to have a conversation.
“I don't see why not,” concluded Usman when asked if he would be open to fighting against Makhachev in the Octagon.
For now, Usman will have to concentrate on holding the indictment of Joaquin Buckley, against whom he returns on 14 June in the main event of UFC Atlanta.
Kamaru Usman once thought about its own switch of his own division, but not for the title of the middleweight
Just like Makhachev – and a whole series of champions in recent years – Usman also saw his visor staring at the weight classes above while holding UFC Gold.
In the midst of a dominant welterweight reign, the potential move of USman was raised to challenge the middleweight belt, tied by the presence of Israel Adesanya. Unlike Makhachev, 'the Nigerian nightmare' said that his friendship with the Nigerian New Zealander was too strong for a fight to take place.
However, that does not prevent usman from discussing his options to achieve the status of 'Champ-Camp'. Instead, he entertained the idea of an unprecedented movement on two divisions to challenge the then light heavyweight Kingpin Jan Bachowicz.
Although that did not flourish, the former 170 pound title holder tested the waters of a different weight class. Last time he made a short notice trip to the middleweight in a losing effort against Khamzat Chimaev.