8/25/26
Current welterweight champion and former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has already cemented his legacy as one of the greatest fighters of all time. He was already in the conversation, but since moving up a weight class, winning the belt, and now with another title defense, he is undeniable. He is only 34 years old, which is actually on the younger side compared to a lot of elite fighters in the company. He is still in his prime and hasn’t slowed down yet, but how many more fights does he plan to have before he hangs up the gloves? The welterweight division is stacked with young talent, and it seems like many fighters in the top five rankings are deserving of a title shot.
Carlos Prates and Michael Morales are the two currently staring at the opportunity, and they could very well get it soon. Prates is seemingly next in line after he dismantles former champions Jack Della Maddalena and Leon Edwards. He is one of the most brutal knockout artists in the sport at the moment and has left a path of destruction behind him. He claims he is next in line for the title, and he is just waiting for Makhachev to recover from his fight against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330. For Prates, it is just a waiting game where he could have a fight in the meantime to stay active or prepare for an eventual title bout against one of the greatest ever.
Makhachev says there are many good contenders in the division and he envisions three future fights against them before he thinks about hanging it up. His mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov retired at 29-0 as lightweight champion and is considered one of the greatest as well and there is many comparisons between the two and for good reason. Islam is now 29-1 and a two division champion whole being 7-0 in championship fights. He knows in the next couple years he will be ready to coast into the sunset but for now he has unfinished business as he wants to go down as the undisputed greatest of all time.
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