Islam Makhachev discusses pursuing welterweight belt if Belal Muhammad defeats Leon Edwards - "We have same manager"
Islam Makhachev and his aim to become a 170-pound champion someday could become muddled a bit depending on the outcome of UFC 304.
Leon Edwards will defend his belt against Belal Muhammad at the Manchester-based pay-per-view in July. The latter combatant winning the welterweight belt from 'Rocky' could make things interesting for the eager UFC lightweight champion who eyes gold in a higher weight category.
Speaking on the Weighing In podcast to John McCarthy and Josh Thomson, Islam Makhachev was asked what happens if Muhammad wins that looming Edwards rematch. He replied:
"Belal [Muhammad], he was here now. He just came yesterday. I don't know, brother. I don't know. We have same manager. We'll do something. We will see, brother... He just came to the camp and he was sparring today with Saygid [Izagakhmaev]. It's gonna be crazy fight because Belal waiting too much for his chance and he training very hard for this one."
Check out Islam Makhachev discussing what could happen if the welterweight title changes hands this Summer below:
Islam Makhachev aiming to join the League of two-division UFC champions
The 32-year-old has goals inside of the company that would put him at a level only nine UFC fighters have been to before.
The first pair of two division champions in UFC history were Randy Couture and BJ Penn. Couture cemented himself as heavyweight and light heavyweight champion while Penn grabbed hardware at welterweight and lightweight.
The native of Russia would also find himself in the same company as Conor McGregor and Georges St-Pierre if he were to get his way. These men were the next pair of two division belt holders in the UFC.
McGregor became the featherweight as well as lightweight champion and was the first fighter in the organization to concurrently hold belts in differing weight categories. GSP was the long-time welterweight champion and also captured middleweight gold in his swan song from the sport.
Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones accomplished the same landmark achievement as Couture did. DC and 'Bones' can both be counted as men who have held light heavyweight as well as heavyweight gold, with Jones being the current lineal champion of that latter weight category.
Amanda Nunes is the lone woman who has accomplished this feat as she held bantamweight as well as featherweight gold inside the octagon. Henry Cejudo ascended to this rarefied air when he captured the UFC bantamweight title after previously being the company's flyweight titleholder.
Alex Pereira is the latest individual to rise to this tier. He captured the middleweight strap and nowadays, 'Poatan' is the light heavyweight king.
Islam Makhachev has his lightweight belt to defend against Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 next month but he clearly has goals of becoming part of this elite caliber of talent sooner than later.