Islam Makhachev says he still doesn’t know who will challenge him in his next UFC title defense, but he already sees several names in the mix — and one that stands out.
Makhachev stated that he has not received any official word from the promotion on his next opponent. "The UFC haven't informed me about it yet," he said, addressing ongoing speculation about his future.
According to Makhachev, "there's been a lot of rumors about me fighting Ian Garry next. Yet I haven't talked with any UFC officials about this fight. So I can't tell for sure who is the next contender. I've got three to four more possible matchups.Kamaru Usmanis also up there. Ian Garry, (Michael) Morales, Prates. Four of them. Plus, Shavkat (Rakhmanov) might be No. 5. They're all expecting a title shot. I definitely need to fight someone, whoever the UFC puts me up against."
Makhachev pointed to recent results at UFC Fight Night 275 in Perth, Western Australia, where Carlos Prates stopped former champion Jack Della Maddalena by third-round TKO, as a key factor in the title picture. "Also, there's a couple of matchups which would determine the real contender. ... I think Prates has got the hype now. He's talked much more about now. So I think a fight with him would be the most interesting."
Reflecting on Maddalena’s performance in that bout, Makhachev added, "Apparently, Maddalena could not collect himself," and later said, "Maybe, he hasn't fully recovered from the last defeat. He couldn't find his range. I have studied his fights a lot. Before we fought, he gets close, changes levels, and throws. But this time around, he just got close and took shots. (Carlos) Prates did an excellent job."
