Khabib Nurmagomedov confirms Islam Makhachev's next UFC title fight with champion aiming to break 14-year record

09/29/2024 01:45 PM

UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov has confirmed that Islam Makhachev will return next year as he looks to make history.

The former lightweight champion retired in October of 2020 after the passing of his father, and has insisted that he will never return. Instead, he turned to coaching, and has been in the corner of Makhachev during his journey to the belt.

Nurmagomedov’s final win over Justin Gaethje equalled the UFC record for title defences at lightweight, but he was unable to break the streak after hanging up his gloves. But Makhachev has raced to that accolade, and will now have a chance to make history of his own and cement himself as a great.

• Who is Islam Makhachev?Step inside the life of the pound-for-pound best fighter on the plane

Khabib Nurmagomedov confirms Islam Makhachev’s next fight for next year

During a recent interview with Ushatayka, Khabib Nurmagomedov made the claim that the UFC have offered Islam Makhachev his next title defence. He also noted that they have accepted, and are preparing now for a date in January.

That would place his defence likely at UFC 311, which has yet to confirm a date or venue. It remains to be seen if the bout will take place in America or outside, with their January events taking place in a number of different locations in recent years including Brazil, California and Toronto.

"UFC offered us a fight already, in January. We accepted it," Nurmagomedov explained. "UFC will announce very soon where it will take place and who will be Islam's opponent. I will not make an announcement myself, but I can say that we are focused on January.

“This sport is growing very quickly. Lots of new youngsters emerging. There will always be good opponents for Islam. Islam is not only a champion now. Now he is the best fighter pound for pound.”

Islam Makhachev could finally break 14-year record with next win

Should he win his next fight, Makhachev would earn himself a spot in lightweight history as the man with the most defences ever in the division. Since its inception, the 155lb belt in the UFC has changed hands regularly, with a number of people landing just three title defences or less.

BJ Penn finished up his stint atop the division in 2010 with three defences, before Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson joined him shortly after. And in 2020 Khabib Nurmagomedov joined that list, while Makhachev got himself on the board at UFC 302 when he defeated Dustin Poirier.

The record would cement Makhachev as one of the all time greats at the weight, although there may be a slight asterisk around his record. Two of his defences came against featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, the second of which was a short-notice fight.

There is a belief that the Australian was not a legitimate challenger for the title, particularly the second time having lost their first meeting. He had never fought at lightweight in the promotion, and lost both of his efforts against Makhachev.

However, it would still be an impressive feat to defend the belt four times, with former champion Henderson praising the Russian during a recent interview with Bloody Elbow. "I'm happy for him," Henderson explained.

"I know it takes a lot of hard work to get to that point. Not just the amount of hard work that is required to win the belt, but to stay mentally focused in that timeframe and not get easily distracted.

“You can get caught up with partying, with this or that, so it takes a lot of hard work. My hat is off to him, it's awesome and if he breaks the record, that will be great for him."

• Who is Khabib Nurmagomedov?Inside the life of the most dominant UFC fighter of all time