What’s next for new UFC welterweight champ Islam Makhachev — and when? Plus, some Thanksgiving turkey advice and a sober assessment of Leon Edwards’ options after that brutal knockout loss at UFC 322.
Want to ask a question of your own? Hit up @BenFowlkesMMA.
@DOGYEE: No way Islam actually waits until the summer to defend right? Any chance he gets a defence in before Ramadan?
I’m no expert on Islamic holy days and where they fall on the calendar, but a quick Google search tells me Ramadan goes from mid-February to mid-March in 2026. That means Islam Makhachev would basically have to get right back in training camp in order to defend his new UFC welterweight title before the holiday break, which seems unlikely. And if he doesn’t start a training camp until late March at the earliest, you’re probably looking at May or June as a return.
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Plus, there’s the question of who deserves the first crack at his belt. In a fair and just world we would all agree that Shavkat Rakhmonov earned that title shot and did not lose it just by getting injured and taking the necessary time to recover. But life in the UFC is often neither fair nor just. If someone like Ian Machado Garry were to go out there Saturday and get a statement win over Belal Muhammad before and after talking a good game, as we know he can, I could see him jumping to the top of the list.
Timing is going to be everything here. If Makhachev really waits until summer, the welterweight ranks could flip upside down a couple times by then. We could be sitting here in six months talking about Michael Morales as the clear top contender. Or, who knows, maybe Rakhmonov gets back in there and reminds us how he got to the top of the list in the first place.
@GabeDert: Gotta be the khamzat and Islam next
I agree that would be a super intriguing matchup. I also think Makhachev would be a fool to take it now, when there’s plenty of work still to do at 170 pounds. Don’t move up and take on a bigger man with essentially the same style until you absolutely have to. Welterweight hasn’t been this interesting in years. Why spoil that?
@NeedXtoseePosts: I know it’s bad to only judge people on their last fight – but given it’s 3 now
Should Leon consider hanging the gloves up?
It seems unfair to go just by this particular loss, since it’s not like Leon Edwards really looked bad. He was actually covered up pretty well when Carlos Prates landed that punch and it still lifted him off his feet and put him down. That right there is maybe not a great sign for how the chin is holding up, but the real issue in some of his recent losses has been that he’ll sometimes show up looking like he doesn’t really want to be there. The competitive fire has seemed to be missing at times.
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That’s a much harder problem to solve. But if he doesn’t solve it, there are more bad nights like this looming in his future. One thing about being a former champ is the UFC isn’t going to give you too many easy fights. You have too big of a name and you get paid too much (you know, relative to everybody else). Matchmakers don’t know how much more use they’ll be able to get out of you, so they want to use you to build future contenders — unless you beat enough of them to prove that won’t work. And so far? Edwards hasn’t proved that.
@shadore66: Is the fight night this weekend low key a better card than last week’s ppv?
Ehhhhhh, no. We have some good fights and known names on Saturday’s fight card in Qatar (how the hell is Kyoji Horiguchi on the prelims?), but as a whole it doesn’t quite stack up to UFC 322 in terms of ranked contenders in bouts that have immediate relevance for their respective divisions. But if you already have that ESPN+ subscription, it is basically free, and that counts for something.
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The main card also starts at 11 a.m. here in the Mountain Time Zone, which unfortunately will put the top two fights up against “The Brawl Of The Wild,” also known as the Montana vs. Montana State rivalry football game. This year both teams are undefeated in the Big Sky conference (my Montana Grizzlies are unbeaten on the season, just saying), and there are big playoff ramifications here.
All of which is to say, I’ll be keeping an eye on Dan Hooker and Arman Tsarukyan via the laptop while the most important annual sporting event in the state gets the TV. Go Griz.
@JedKMeshew: DDP vs Islam. How confident would you be in DDP on a scale of “bet my pinky” to “bet a shiny new nickel”
I’ll say this: Jack Della Maddalena’s total lack of an answer in the grappling department made me look a little more kindly on Dricus du Plessis’ performance against Chimaev. At least he had a moment late in the fight. His spirit never seemed to get broken, which is something. That said, would I pick him against Makhachev, even with the size advantage? Not unless you’re giving me long enough odds for a huge return on that nickel investment.
@JoseYoungs: From best to worst, name your top 5 goosebumps arcs.
Every episode of the 1990s TV show version that featured some storyline involving the evil ventriloquist dummy that comes to life. They’re all tied for first in my book.
@beatdook: What is your preferred method of preparation for your Thanksgiving turkey? Traditional roasted, smoked or deep-fried and what is your stance on turduken?
This earns me some hate tweets every time I say it, but I do not waste my time with turkey at all. It’s so overrated. I don’t care if it’s traditional, it’s dry and bland and not worth messing with. Instead I bounce between a variety of different meat selections. This year, I’m going back to a killer prime rib recipe I found a little while back. And the leftovers make for sandwiches that would blow your turkey-eating mind.
@CrooklynMMA: Totally random but if you could make a poem with just 4 lines about Dana White, how would it go?
He says fighting in the UFC is not a career
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but an opportunity to make money
mostly for others who won’t live long enough
to spend what they already have.
