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After Belal Muhammad lost the welterweight title to Jack Delle Maddalena at UFC 315, Islam Makhachev can move up a division. But before he can go after the new champion, the Russian has to give up his lightweight belt. Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira will fight for the now-vacant title.
The manager of both Islam and Belal, Ali Abdelaziz, commented on the situation to MMA Junkie.
"If Belal had won, Islam would never have fought him and would have stayed at lightweight. But now Jack has won," Abdelaziz said.
"Makhachev has beaten everyone at lightweight, Dan Hooker, Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira. There's no one more deserving of a second belt than him. The only reason he hasn't done it before is because Belal was the champion," he continued.
Although the Russian has to give up his current belt to fight in a higher weight class, his manager doesn't see it as a big problem. He pointed out that in the past, fighters like Conor McGregor and Amanda Nunes held titles in two weight classes simultaneously. UFC has since changed its policy and requires fighters to vacate their old belts when moving up or down a division.
"We now have Charles and Ilia fighting for the title, but everyone knows who the real champion of this division is because he has never lost the belt," Abdelaziz emphasized.
He believes that the Russian will also win the welterweight title and that, although he will no longer technically be the LW champion, he will still wear two belts to prove his dominance. The manager promised a stronger, better-conditioned Makhachev, who won’t have to drain himself cutting weight before facing the Australian.
Dana White confirmed that Jack and Islam have agreed to the match; all that remains is to choose a date and location, although Della Maddalena is already championing Australia, his home country.
The fight is expected to happen later this year, as the longest-reigning UFC lightweight titleholder goes for a new path in a higher weight class.
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