Islam Makhachev wouldn’t mind another trip to Australia.
Following a brief interaction with Alexander Volkanovski at the fighter hotel in Abu Dhabi yesterday, the lightweight title challenger was queried about his interest in defending the 155-pound belt against the current featherweight champion in Australia at UFC 284 next year – should he win of course.
A big name, a significantly smaller opponent. He’s all in.
“I met Volkanovski downstairs,” Makhachev told reporters at the UFC 280 media day. “He’s like a short guy. I asked him, ‘Hey, why you need this? He’s cutting weight right now, but if I beat Volkanovski, people are gonna say – but people always talk. I want to fight Charles [Oliveira] and I hope he’s gonna make weight. But it doesn’t matter because this camp I’m training so hard – so it doesn’t matter who’s gonna be there. Saturday night, I need someone.”
“Why not? Yes,”Makhachev said. “I went to Australia one time. We can go again.”
“Yeah, this is gonna be a good fight. Always when the champion from other divisions they fight with other champions, it’s a big, big fight and very interesting fight for all the fans.”
The AllStar MMA roundup
- Fight News: Ji Yeon Kim vs Mandy Bohm in the works for UFC Seoul on February 4, per sources
- UFC 280: Arman Tsarukyan doesn’t like Oliveira’s chin – ‘I think Islam can knock him out’
- UFC 280: There are more paths to victory for Charles Oliveira than Islam Makhachev, says Sean Madden
- UFC Vegas 63: Joseph Holmes reveals crucial tune-ups provided by James Krause behind first UFC win
- Road to UFC: The dark side of Muay Thai: How one fighter survived and got on the road to the UFC
The best of the rest
- Sean O’Malley believes Petr Yan got ‘bullied’ into facing him after turning down other fights – MMAFighting.com
- Ben Askren recalls first memories after Jorge Masvidal knockout: ‘F***, that’s Luke Rockhold. That means I’m in the hospital’ – MMAFighting.com
- Charles Oliveira: Islam Makhachev’s UFC 280 title shot ‘only happening because of’ Khabib‘ – MMAJunkie.com
- Cub Swanson reveals he also ‘fractured a rib’ in leg kick TKO loss at UFC Vegas 62 – BloodyElbow.com
- Former UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov believes MMA is in ‘decline’ – BloodyElbow.com
The soapbox
Charles Oliveira’s amateur debut:
Mateusz Gamrot’s final training session is in the bag:
Jake Matthews on UFC fighter pay:
Giga Chikadze feels Beneil Dariush has been shafted:
Jimmy Cute axes the mullet:
Chael going in on Anthony Joshua:
Jack Della teases fight news:
Okay, this is funny:
The morning view
JHK catches up with Carlos Candelario ahead of UFC Vegas 64:
A comparison of Sean O’Malley and Petr Yan’s open workouts:
A look at Sakuraba’s impact on modern MMA:
Chael makes his official pick, for what it’s worth:
Done deals
Thursday
- Ji Yeon Kim to fight Mandy Böhm at UFC Seoul on February 4th (per John Hyon Ko)
- Da Un Jung to fight Devin Clark at UFC Seoul on February 4th (per Cole Shelton)
Wednesday
- Lauren Murphy to fight Jessica Andrade at UFC 283 on January 21st (per MMAFighting)
Tuesday
- None to note
Monday
- None to note
On this day in MMA…
On the 20th of October, 2007, 33-year-old Demian Maia made his UFC debut at UFC 77: Hostile Territory in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Maia would face Ryan Jensen on the preliminary card, securing a quick submission via rear-naked choke in the first round. As the only sub on the card, it earned him submission of the night honors worth $40,000 – not a bad paycheck for your first day at the office.
Maia would stack up another five impressive submission wins inside the promotion before suffering his first UFC loss at the hands of Nate Marquardt two years later.
