Islam Makhachev has a lot of options for his next Octagon appearance, including a venture into two different weight classes. Makhachev comes off of a successful, albeit controversial, title defense of his 155-pound title against Alexander Volkanovski. The latter, however, being the current featherweight champion of the UFC and giving Makhachev the toughest fight of his career.
In the aftermath of their classic matchup, much has been made about what is next for Makhachev. One option being a potential cut down to 145 pounds to challenge Volkanovski for his own title. Of course, that would be a strenuous weight cut for Makhachev, who already cuts heavily to get down to his own championship weight of 155 pounds.
Islam Makhachev Talks Potential Weight Jumps
Speaking to media recently, Makhachev addressed a potential cut down to featherweight. He acknowledged that the cut down to lightweight is already a difficult one, and doesn’t think going all the way down to 145 pounds to rematch Volkanovski is possible.
“Cutting even more weight to fight him doesn’t make sense. It’ll be hard on my body. I already cut a lot of weight for my own division. And we didn’t get much time to recover in Australia. With those conditions it’ll be impossible.
Finally, many believe Makhachev could eventually jump up to welterweight in an attempt to become a rare dual-weight champion in the UFC. Makhachev seems content to stay at lightweight for now, but he’ll consider jumping up on one condition. That condition being the UFC calls him up and offers him a title shot to test himself on the spot.
“If the UFC calls and says they want to give me a title fight at welterweight I’ll be happy to test myself there.”
