According to one of his undefeated training partners, Islam Makhachev might return to the lightweight division after his attempt to win the welterweight title.
Featherweight contender Movlid Khaybulaev, who boasts a 22-0-1 record, is set to compete in the PFL World Tournament semi-finals tomorrow night in Nashville against Tae Kyun Kim.
Khaybulaev is a regular training partner of Makhachev under the guidance of Khabib Nurmagomedov. He has observed Makhachev`s preparations for a move up to 170lb, where the pound-for-pound number one will face newly-crowned champion Jack Della Maddalena.
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When Islam Makhachev decided to move up to the 170lb welterweight division, he was required to relinquish his lightweight title after a historic reign. This decision allowed Charles Oliveira and Ilia Topuria to compete for the now-vacant championship, which will serve as the main event for UFC 317.
However, Khaybulaev believes Makhachev`s time at 155lb isn`t necessarily finished. He mentioned that while rematches with Oliveira or a bout with featherweight champ Topuria might not currently seem appealing, a return is possible if a compelling matchup emerges.
He said himself if he is going to have an interesting fight at lightweight he will always come back.
He [Makhachev] simply feels there are no new challenges left for him in the division right now, and he wants to test himself, which is why he`s moving to welterweight.
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Before potentially moving back down, Makhachev`s immediate goal is to secure a second championship belt. At the Nurmagomedov gym, fighters from various weight classes train together, meaning Khaybulaev has already witnessed the lightweight king performing effectively against welterweights during training sessions.
I fully trust Islam’s experience and how he feels himself going a weight up.
Khaybulaev further explained: “We’ve got a bunch of people we train with at different weight classes. For example, me. I train with Islam, who is a lightweight and we are totally different [Khaybulaev is a featherweight]. But it also helps me to test myself to see physically where I stand with different opponents. I feel it will be the same for him, and if he feels that he’s ready then that means he probably is. He probably tested himself multiple times with the heavier guys.”
Jack Thornley