Islam Makhachev might be getting his requested fight against Justin Gaethje after all. Even more, despite the UFC announcing that the winner of the Charles Oliveira vs. Arman Tsarukyan will get the No. 1 contender spot, the champ suggested that Gaethje will face him first.
June 8 UFC PPV vs Gaetje, November UFC MSG vs Olivera/Arman, February 2025 vs Anybody Inshallah 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/yp0LKfj3Pw
— Makhachev Islam (@MAKHACHEVMMA) January 10, 2024
UFC’s pound-for-pound king recently shared the timeline of his plan for his next three fights. While still on break, Makhachev has huge visions for himself this year and in 2025. In his post, the Russian named the fighters whom he would face in his next two fights, but one of them would make fans curious.
According to Makhachev, he would fight “anybody” in 2025. Prior to that, he shared that he would face Gaethje on June 8 for a UFC PPV event, and it would be followed by the winner of the Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan fight in November.
This is a little interesting given the fact that UFC CEO Dana White already mentioned that the victor of the Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan would be the one who would get the No. 1 contender right. The two fighters both lost to the champ before, but Makhachev has no interest in having rematches and instead wants to fight Gaethje.
If the timeline shared by the champ is true, this makes UFC’s promise for both Oliveira and Tsarukyan senseless. And not only that it comes with the uncertainty of who’s actually getting the title shot next, but who they are fighting in case Gaethje manages to steal the belt. Fortunately, this remains a suggestion from Makhachev, who shared the details, noting “inshallah.”
