Current lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev’s plans for a future welterweight title charge have just received a massive boost, with current titleholder, Belal Muhammad revealing he would vacate his strap in order to allow the Russian to freely compete for it.
Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight champion and pound-for-pound number one fighter on the promotion’s books, has been linked with an imminent return to action as soon as April — in a potential UFC 314 return against current featherweight kingpin, Ilia Topuria in a massive super fight with the unbeaten finisher.
And most recently headlining UFC 311 back in January, Makhachev took on short-notice foe, Renato Moicano on just a single day’s notice, successfully retaining his belt in a dominant first round D’Arce choke submission win over the Brasilia fan-favorite.