Former undisputed lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov has confirmed how his protege, Islam Makhachev is lined up to make his return to action at the beginning of next year, revealing how UFC officials had approached the Russian camp with a January outing for the pound-for-pound number one.
Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight champion, most recently featured at UFC 302 back in May in New Jersey. successfully defending his crown for the third straight outing.
Turning in a Fight of the Night showing against former interim lightweight titleholder, Dustin Poirier, Makhachev would land a fifth round D’Arce choke submission win over the Lafayette striker, improving his professional record to 26-1 as a result.