Islam Makhachev is ready to return to action.
The Lightweight division will be showcased to full effect at UFC 300 next month (Sat., April 13, 2024). Well, as close to full effect as a division can be without its champion in action.
The current reigning titleholder, Makhachev, is awaiting his next challenger to come out of the thrilling match ups that pit Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan. However, the timing isn’t doing Makhachev any favors as he targets a June 2024 return. Therefore, speculation has built around him possibly defending against one-time interim champion, Dustin Poirier, next. For Makhachev’s longtime coach at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) and Team Khabib, Javier Mendez, he’s just glad to see the pound-for-pound No. 1-ranked fighter stay busy.
“The reality is, I’m just happy to see him fight anybody,” Mendez told MMA Mania, courtesy of KingCasinoBonus. “It doesn’t matter. I want him to fight anybody. Just fight. He’s ready to fight.
“Obviously, he was offered to fight Leon [Edwards] before, but that was during Ramadan time,” he continued. “Look, when you’re the champion, you fight when you’re ready to fight. You don’t fight when the company says fight. If you’re a company guy, great, but you better be ready when the company says come. Otherwise, you’re not gonna be the company guy because you’re not gonna hold that title. If you don’t hold that title, you don’t hold that what we all want.
“At the end of the day, it’s about legacy, money, status,” Mendez concluded. “Once you lose that belt, you’re no longer pound-for-pound the best in the world, and you’re no longer gonna dictate certain things that when you’re the champion, you can dictate.”
Poirier, 35, recently rebounded from his second round head kick loss to Gaethje at UFC 291 (watch highlights) with an impressive second round punch knockout of Benoit Saint Denis (watch highlights) at UFC 299 earlier this month (March. 9, 2024). “The Diamond” immediately expressed his openness to a title fight in the aftermath, and it didn’t take long for Makhachev to chime in.
Ultimately, Makhachev vs. Poirier looks like the safest option to keep the division moving while the top challengers are occupied. All parties are interested, so why not?
“Islam’s a true professional, and he wanted to fight at a time that he’s gonna be ready to defend his title at the best ability that he can do,” Mendez said. “During Ramadan time, shortly before or after, there’s no way. Not gonna happen.
“If it’s Dustin, fantastic. If it’s Justin, fantastic,” he continued. “But from my perspective, because who’s available now, who would be available sooner: Dustin. I believe that’s the reason why this is going on. We don’t know what’s going to happen with Justin and the fight with Charles [and Tsarukyan]. We don’t know. What if the winner gets injured, and the fight’s delayed? Now Islam’s wait how much more time?
“I’m all for Dustin,” Mendez concluded. “Dustin’s injury-free, he’s a great fighter, a great human being, he’s my pick also because of the circumstances fitting perfect for Dustin and Islam. Perfect.”