Khabib confirms P4P No. 1 Makhachev has accepted January title defense

Khabib Nurmagomedov has let the cat out of the bag on Islam Makhachev’s next title defense.

Makhachev’s mentor, coach, and training partner discussed the lightweight champion’s future in a new interview (provided by Ushatayka), including when we might see Islam back in the cage. We haven’t seen the Dagestani fighter compete since UFC 302 in June where he earned a fifth round submission win over Dustin Poirier. A hand injury kept him from a long-awaited bout at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi, but now Khabib confirmed they expect to fight in January, possibly at UFC 311.

“UFC offered us a fight already, in January. We accepted it,” Nurmagomedov revealed. “UFC will announce very soon where it will take place and who will be Islam’s opponent. I will not make an announcement myself, but I can say that we are focused on January.”

The most likely opponent for Makhachev is Arman Tsarukyan, who was promised a title shot after beating Charles Oliveira at UFC 300. Rather than fighting Islam two months later at UFC 302, Arman opted to wait a bit longer so he would have a full training camp. The two already fought once before with Tsarukyan being a short-notice replacement opponent — Makhachev took a dominating 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 decision over him back in 2019.

Makhachev hasn’t sounded too interested in the rematch, saying he’d prefer new opponents other than more repeat opponents. Nurmagomedov echoed that sentiment.

“There will be new challengers, new contenders for this title,” he said. “The sport is growing very quickly, there are a lot of new young guys, there will be good opponents for Islam. Islam is now not only a champion, but the best fighter pound-for-pound today.”

Uh-oh, does Khabib realize picking Islam over Jon Jones in the P4P discussion makes him a ‘stupid know-nothing’ in the eyes of UFC CEO Dana White?

We’ll keep you informed on when the UFC officially announces Islam Makhachev’s next title defense and who he ends up facing. It may be a while, though. The promotion still hasn’t announced a main event for UFC 310 in December, or a general schedule for the first quarter of 2025.