Islam Makhachev will be fighting Jack Della Maddalena for the UFC Welterweight Title at some point this autumn, although his preferred date for the bout would be in November at Madison Square Gardens, per reports.
ð¨ Islam Makhachev says he asked Dana White if his fight against JDM could be at MSG in November ð
“I asked Dana if we have some opportunity to fight in Madison Square Garden. It would be honour for me to fight in the biggest arena for MMA and boxing. Legendary arena.”
(via⦠pic.twitter.com/ClnX88dgqL
â Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 25, 2025
Hunter Campbell Tried To Convince Makhachev To Move Up And Fight Belal Muhammad
However, it was not always going to be this way, with many having speculated that the 4 x UFC Lightweight Champion, Makhachev, was reluctant to face his friend and part-time training partner, Belal Muhammad, if he had retained his belt against the Australian, JDM.
And in an interview with MMA Junkie, the Russian explained that this roadblock formed a large part of the reason behind UFC Chief Business Officer, Hunter Campbell’s visit to Dagestan in early May, ahead of UFC 315.
Islam Makhachev says his meeting with Hunter Campbell in Dagestan was about fighting the winner of Belal vs JDM, not Ilia Topuria:
“Everybody think [Hunter] come to make fight with Topuria, but we talked about fight against winner of Maddalena and Belal. He told me ‘I know Belal⦠pic.twitter.com/tVefzh21Nn
â Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 25, 2025
“Everybody think [Hunter] come to make fight with Topuria,” Makhachev said, “but we talked about fight against winner of Maddalena and Belal. He told me ‘I know Belal is your friend, but this is sport. Shake hands, fight, after fight respect’… We have big discussion about that, I told him ‘let’s wait for the fight, we will see after that’.”
Was Islam Makhachev Going To Move Up To Welterweight Regardless Of The UFC 315 Outcome
Makhachev repeatedly re-stated that both he and Muhammad were unwilling to do battle against each other in the 170 lb division. But if Belal had won the fight – especially if it had been in convincing fashion, the UFC would have likely made a strong push for Islam to fight for the welterweight belt irregardless.
This breaks from the belief by many that Makhachev “ducked” incoming challenger at 155lb, and the former 145lb champion prior to vacating his belt earlier this year, Ilia Topuria.
Umar Nurmagomedov, cousin of Khabib and teammate of Islam, stated words in conjunction with this, noting that the UFC wanted Islam to move up so that Ilia could become the champion at 155.
ðð²Umar Nurmagomedov reveals Hunter Campbell came to Dagestan to convince Islam to move up so Topuria can become the champ at 155
“He [Hunter] came to see Islam, and they wanted Islam to move up. They want to make Topuria the champ at 155. They believe he can really sell⦠pic.twitter.com/bMOiyARPFT
â Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) June 15, 2025
The sell-ability of Ilia is no doubt a lure, but this did end up robbing the fans of an Islam – Ilia super fight.
If both win their next fights, it would not be a surprise to Islam move back down to 155lb and try to reclaim his now vacant belt.
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