UFC president Dana White was not on hand for the UFC Vegas 49 post-fight press conference. With White absent, the MMA media did not get to ask him if Islam Makhachev is in line for a shot at the UFC lightweight title. However, Makhachev’s coach and training partner, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, had already covered that line of questioning prior to Saturday’s event.
Nurmagomedov, speaking to the UFC’s Megan Olivi, said that during a pre-event sitdown with White, he asked the UFC president what was next for Makhachev after UFC Vegas 49. Nurmagomedov said that he did not mean his question to imply that Makhachev’s team was looking past Bobby Green, who Makhachev faced in Saturday’s main event, but that the two fighters were not on the same level.