ISLAM MAKHACHEV SENDS DEFIANT DIRECT MESSAGE TO JACK DELLA MADDALENA FOLLOWING UFC 315 TITLE WIN

Islam Makhachev’s next fight has finally become clear following UFC 315 this past Saturday.

In the UFC 315 main event in Montreal on Saturday, Jack Della Maddalena dethroned Belal Muhammad to become the new welterweight champion after a five round war.

Following the fight, Muhammad was trolled by Dricus Du Plessis, the UFC middleweight champion, after Belal Muhammad previously hinted at a future move up to 185lbs.

Ahead of the UFC 315 main event, UFC boss Dana White claimed that the result would determine both Islam Makhachev’s and Ilia Topuria’s next fights, as the two were linked to fight each other but Makhachev continued to remain hopeful of moving up in weight.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Islam Makhachev sends Jack Della Maddalena a defiant message

Islam Makhachev was in an awkward position coming into the welterweight title fight as Muhammad is his teammate so he was supporting him, however, he knew ‘Remember The Name’ stood in his way.

Immediately after Della Maddalena’s win in the main event, the Russian took to social media to declare his next fight will come against the Australian, stating that his plan to become double champion is on.

Although Della Maddalena isn’t teammates with Alexander Volkanovski, the two are close friends, and in his Octagon interview, the Australian stated that he wants to beat Makhachev for Volkanovski, after he suffered two losses to the Russian.

“You are not Volkanovski, I will show you different levels. Keep my belt clean,” Makhachev told Della Maddalena in a post on social media.

Volkanovski and Makhachev first fought in 2023 at UFC 284 when Makhachev very narrowly picked up the unanimous decision win in what was an extremely close fight.

Jack Della Maddalena responds to Islam Makhachev

With Della Maddalena completely open to fighting the lightweight champion in his first title defense, he issued his response to Makhachev in the UFC 315 post-fight press conference.

“Come and get it, come get it,” Della Maddalena responded to Makhachev.

Makhachev revealed earlier this week that he won’t be vacating his 155lb title in pursuit of the second belt and it is still unclear when he may return to the Octagon with his opponent now clear.

- Jamie Theodosi

CHAEL SONNEN: ISLAM MAKHACHEV'S DESIRE TO CHANGE WEIGHT CLASSES ISN'T ABOUT UFC TITLE

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Chael Sonnen believes the true reason UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has been talking about chasing a second title in a higher weight class has nothing to do with accolades or building a legacy.

Soon after defeating short-notice opponent Renato Moicano in the first round at UFC 311, Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) said he would move up to middleweight to challenge current champion Dricus Du Plessis. Moving from 155 pounds to 185 is a huge jump in weight, but it would be the next logical step for Makhachev since he will not fight current welterweight champ Belal Muhammad.

“Islam’s got to talk about (Alex) Pereira at 205, and he’s got to talk about Dricus at 185,” Sonnen told MMA Junkie. “And that’s weird, and that’s not anything that anybody will take serious, but he has to do that because his friend has the belt at 170.

“There’s really no teams out there, there’s just guys that say they belong to a team, and that includes the NFL and NBA. Those guys are whores. You put down a bigger check than somebody else, they’re put your jersey on. The only team, real team, is Khabib’s and they have a code and they have an honor. You’re just not going to see a fight with Islam and Belal. But the No. 1 thing that Islam wants, and the No. 1 reason he keeps bringing things like this up – it’s not a challenge, it’s not a new world title. He wants out of the weight class.”

After hitting championship weight of 155 pounds at official weigh-ins the day before the fight, Makhachev gained 23.5 pounds, weighing-in at 178 pounds on the night of UFC 311. That’s just slightly under what he claims is his walk around weight of around 180.

If Makhachev were to move up to challenge Du Plessis, he knows it would take time to bulk up and add muscle to his frame, but he believes he could get the job done.

Sonnen is of the belief that Makhachev’s calls to change divsiions is a plea for help of sorts, and one that could lead to an early retirement if not acknowledged by the UFC.

“The biggest problem Islam has is a thing that beat his coach twice and that ultimately retired – Khabib did not retire because he didn’t want to fight Conor (McGregor) a second time,” Sonnen said. “The UFC showed him the wrong numbers. Every time they had a meeting, they showed more commas and more zeroes. That was the wrong number. If they would have made the weight class 170, they would have got Khabib for one more fight. They’re going to run into that same problem with Islam eventually.

“The No. 1 reason a combat athlete retires – they tell you it’s because their contract’s up, they tell you because they’ve had enough, they tell you because it’s too told – the No. 1 reason, No. 1, any combat athlete retires: they don’t want to make that weight anymore. They don’t want to beat the scale. Everything that goes into that. That is a 24/7 lifestyle to get those calories off to beat that damn scale.”

- Matthew Wells and Mike Bohn