Percussive themes: who will be Makhachev's next opponent

It has been more than two months since Islam Makhachev became the UFC welterweight champion. There is no specific news about the next opponent yet, although there are plenty of applicants. The management of the promotion has someone to choose from — it has at least five worthy candidates at its disposal. Izvestia tells about each of them.

Usman

According to the sporting principle, the Nigerian is not the most obvious option, because there are fighters with long winning streaks in the ranking. Kamaru broke a three-game losing streak six months ago when he defeated Joaquin Buckley. However, all three of his previous fights were very competitive, especially against Khamzat Chimaev.

Despite the poor results, it is Usman who is now Makhachev's most likely opponent. Islam himself wants to fight the ex-champion, and his name sounds louder than the rest of the 77 kg fighters. Makhachev and Usman even had a spontaneous duel of looks when they met at the UFC 324 tournament.

In addition, such a battle will have great historical significance from the point of view of statistics. The Russian holds the UFC record for the most consecutive wins (17), and the Nigerian was on a 15—win streak before his first fight with Leon Edwards. Usman is also one of the best 77 kg champions in terms of the number of defenses, of which he has five. Makhachev holds the record for defending in the lightweight division — four.

Morales

The Ecuadorian giant may well get a title shot, considering how impressive he is performing in the UFC. Morales has seven wins in the promotion, and he finished the last three fights with knockouts in the first round. The Ecuadorian's victory over Sean Brady, which took place at the same UFC 322 tournament, where Makhachev defeated Jack Della Maddalena, turned out to be particularly striking.

After that tournament, it was Morales who was considered the main contender for a fight with the Russian, and according to the sporting principle, Michael really deserved the chance. There is an intrigue in this match too. Morales looks much bigger than Makhachev and any of his previous rivals, and so far none of the rival wrestlers have been able to force a fight on Michael in the stalls. But Morales doesn't have a big name yet, so the chances of getting a title fight aren't as big as Usman's.

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Harry

The Irishman is one of the most media—bright welterweight characters, and his victories are quite enough to claim the title right now. Garry won 10 fights in the UFC, but lost only once — in a fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov. At the same time, Ian gave the Kazakh fighter the hardest fight — for the first time in his career, Shavkat could not win ahead of schedule. Garry has already closed this defeat with two landslide victories over Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad.

The Harry vs Makhachev fight is also interesting because of the classic sign — Dagestan vs Ireland. Ian calls himself McGregor's protégé, so his fight with Khabib's best friend could be beautifully presented. However, Ian is not fighting very spectacularly, which reduces his chances of a match for the belt right now. The Irishman would be an interesting opponent for Makhachev, but most likely not in the near future.

Topuria

The Georgian from Spain is seen as Makhachev's most principled rival. Topuria said a lot of unpleasant and derogatory words about the Russian, and this fight would have turned out to be similar in terms of tension to what happened between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. However, there are big doubts that the fight will take place soon.

Topuria currently holds the lightweight belt, which he has not defended yet due to family problems. At 70 kg, Elijah came from the featherweight division, where he defended one defense. After Justin Geiji won the interim title, Topuria will surely want to defend the title in a stylistically uncomplicated duel.

Makhachev, on the other hand, is not ready to return to lightweight, so it is Topuria who will have to lift 77 kg. On the one hand, Elijah will create history just by the fact of such a duel: no one has ever fought for a belt in three divisions. On the other hand, the risk of losing is too high, and for a tournament in the White House, as Makhachev suggested, the confrontation between fighters from Georgia and Russia is not very suitable.

Rakhmonov

The undefeated fighter from Kazakhstan won 19 professional fights and finished 18 of them ahead of schedule. In the UFC, Rakhmonov started with six spectacular wins, including over Jeff Neal and Stephen Thompson. Shawkat's seventh fight was against Ian Garry, although a title fight with Belal Muhammad was originally planned. But the champion was injured, and Shavkat fought Garry and brought the fight to the judges' decision for the first time.

It later turned out that Rakhmonov came out with an injury, which he then treated for a long time, which is why he missed Jack Della Maddalena in the title line. Thus, Rakhmonov did not fight for more than a year, while other competitors increased their winning streaks. So now the Kazakhstani will probably have to win another victory to get a title chance.