Islam Makhachev’s first defence as UFC welterweight champion is in the works but it seems one top contender will not be getting his shot at gold.
Makhachev (28-1, 5 KOs, 13 Submissions) dethroned Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 to enter the elite class of two-weight champions, but the Dagestani is yet to have a return to the Octagon confirmed.
With welterweight stacked with talent, numerous names have been floated as potential challengers to Makhachev’s crown, including rising stars Carlos Prates and Michael Morales.
The 34-year-old’s manager Ali Abdelaziz, however, has ruled one of the more obvious contenders out of contention for the fight, revealing that plans surrounding the bout do not include number two-ranked Ian Machado Garry.
“This is, I can tell you, the UFC working on a big fight and Ian (Garry) name is not involved,” Abdelaziz said on X.
“Much bigger. One of the biggest fight in the UFC right now they can make. Stay tuned.”
Machado Garry took to Instagram to respond to Abdelaziz’s post, accusing Makhachev of stalling for time while the Irishman sits ready and available to fight.
“I’m ready… he needs more time,” Machado Garry wrote. “Imagine being the number one pound for pound fighter on the planet and needing MORE time.”
Machado Garry (17-1, 7 KOs, 1 Submission), followed up an impressive decision win against the ever-dangerous Prates with victory over former champion Belal Muhammad in November.
But despite being only behind Della Maddalena in the rankings – who is now booked to fight Prates on 2 May – Abdelaziz has blown off talk that he will be Makhachev’s next opponent.
The Egyptian’s post, waxing lyrical about the bout being planned, has instead stoked speculation that former champion Kamaru Usman, who also falls under his management.
Usman has been vying for a shot at Makhachev since getting back in the win column against Joaquin Buckley and the reigning welterweight king has openly favoured the Usman challenge, branding him as the “biggest name in welterweight” and that the Nigerian would be “the hardest fight for me”.
At the back-end of his career, Usman is one of the division’s all-time greats, staging a reign of terror as welterweight king between 2019 and 2022 during which he defeated the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns across his five successful title defences.
Makhachev, meanwhile, has looked unbeatable at the UFC’s pinnacle, with his last and only previous professional loss coming over 10 years ago.
He is one of only 11 double champions in UFC history, previously steamrolling Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski, Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano in a dominant run with the lightweight belt.
Makhachev relinquished his lightweight crown in May last year and has already conquered the next weight class up, with his first welterweight title defence yet to be confirmed.
