Joe Rogan just threw gasoline on UFC 330 week, saying Islam Makhachev could walk away if he beats Ian Machado Garry and decides to copy the clean Khabib Nurmagomedov exit. That is a spicy wrinkle for a fight already loaded with pressure, especially after Makhachev recently shut down retirement rumors before the Garry fight and then stared down Garry at the Rocky statue ahead of UFC 330.
Rogan was discussing the welterweight title picture before Makhachev defends against Garry on August 15 in Philadelphia. Rogan did not report that Makhachev is retiring. He floated the possibility because the Dagestani champion has already stacked enough hardware to make the argument feel less ridiculous than it sounds on first listen.
Rogan’s comments:
Joe Rogan thinks Islam Makhachev might retire if he beats Ian Garry this weekend
“Islam may retire. If he beats Ian and says ‘I’ve had enough, I’m gonna do what Khabib did’, I could see that.
Then I could see Morales vs Prates for the undisputed title.”
(via @joerogan) pic.twitter.com/EUrb2rI7iE
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) August 12, 2026
Rogan Sees A Khabib-Style Door For Makhachev
Rogan laid out his complete scenario:
“And we’ll see what happens. Listen, Islam may retire. I can feel it. He may retire. He’s done a lot. He’s competed in two different weight classes and won world championships in two different weight classes. If he beats Ian, if he submits Ian and says, ‘I’ve had enough. I’m going to do what Khabib did, and I’m going to coach now,’ I could see that. And then I could see Morales and Prates for the fucking undisputed title.”
Rogan’s read was blunt. He said Makhachev might decide he has done enough if he gets through Garry, then pointed to the Khabib path that still hangs over this entire team. Khabib left MMA at 29-0 after beating Justin Gaethje in 2020, kept his promise to his mother, and never came back despite every promoter with a checkbook trying to tempt him.
The second part is the real chaos grenade. If Makhachev beats Garry and decides he has done enough, Rogan’s version of the board pushes Michael Morales and Carlos Prates straight into the title conversation. Morales is already sitting around the UFC 330 title picture as backup, while Prates has been openly chasing the winner. MiddleEasy already covered Prates picking Garry by decision over Makhachev, so yes, this welterweight traffic jam has been honking for a minute.
Makhachev’s side of this is simple. He is 28-1, has already conquered lightweight, and has been trying to stretch his pound-for-pound case into welterweight. Javier Mendez recently said Makhachev can push his GOAT argument with a UFC 330 win, and that is the kind of legacy math that makes a sudden exit believable even if nobody from Makhachev’s team has confirmed anything close to it.
Garry is the problem standing in front of all that fantasy matchmaking. He is unbeaten in the UFC, long, awkward, and stubborn enough to turn a coronation into a five-round headache. If Garry ruins the party, the retirement talk gets stuffed in a locker. If Makhachev handles business, Rogan’s scenario suddenly goes from barbershop argument to a real UFC problem.
That is what makes this fun. Makhachev may keep fighting, defend forever, chase more names, and make everyone look silly for even entertaining the idea. But with Khabib in his corner, a second-weight-class champion’s belt on the table, and the next wave of welterweights already circling, UFC 330 might be about more than one title fight. It might be about whether Islam decides there are still levels left to climb, or whether he leaves the rest of the division swinging at smoke.
