Islam Makhachev has ambitions to dominate two UFC weight classes at once. His longtime friend and training partner Daniel Cormier urges him to be cautious when he pursues this goal.
Makhachev is already the UFC lightweight champion. He won the coveted belt in the division in a victory in which he submitted to Charles Oliveira in 2022, and defended four times thereafter. His first two defenses came against featherweight legend Alexander Volkanovsky. Since then, he has protected the belt with Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano finishes.
Makhachev still has interesting challenges at 155 pounds, or Ilia Topuria. However, after his success in the division, he is focused on the welterweight title.
The welterweight title was previously held by Makhachev’s friend Beral Muhammad. However, Muhammad surrendered his belt to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 last Saturday, clearing the path for Makhachev to move up and challenge another title.
In the wake of UFC 315, Makhachev made it very clear that that’s what he’s going to do next. However, he also made it clear that he is not planning on opening a lightweight belt when chasing welterweight gold. Instead, he aims to actively defend his belt in both weight classes.
Currently, Cormier, a former two-division champion who has retired from his fight and job as a UFC analyst, is unsure if that’s the right move.
