Islam Makhachev is doubling down on his desire to fight Kamaru Usman next.
Makhachev captured the UFC Welterweight Championship in a dominant performance against Jack Della Maddalena back in November. Top 170-pound contenders such as Michael Morales and Ian Machado Garry have emerged and both seem to be viable options to fight Makhachev next.
The 170-pound champion has drawn the ire of some with his stance on who should be the next title challenger. Makhachev believes Usman would be an intriguing matchup, and he explained why when speaking to Red Corner MMA (via MMAFighting).
“I said that I wanted to fight Kamaru Usman next,” Makhachev said. “Although the media doesn’t believe in this fight as I can see, but in my opinion, Usman would steamroll through each of these up-and-comers like Morales, Prates… those guys haven’t been checked yet.
“I think Usman would be the hardest fight for me and in terms of media we could build it up. Like, a former champion, the most title defenses in my weight division, we could promote this fight well and make it fun to watch.”
Usman has gone 1-3 in his last four outings. He was able to snap a three-fight skid by defeating Joaquin Buckley via unanimous decision back in June. During his skid, Usman dropped two straight to Leon Edwards as well as a majority decision to Khamzat Chimaev in a highly competitive middleweight fight.
Some welterweights have spoken out against the idea of Usman getting another welterweight title bout. Perhaps the most vocal name has been Ian Machado Garry, who has gone as far as to call Usman “irrelevant” going into 2026. Other names such as Sean Brady, who was stopped by Morales, feels there are other deserving contenders. In fact, Brady has called for Morales to get the title opportunity.
UFC hasn’t determined who will get the first crack at Makhachev’s welterweight gold. BJPenn.com will keep you updated on the 170-pound title picture.
