Islam Makhachev was seen in Paris, France, cheering for his brother competing in a Judo competition. The Dagestani fighter has been inactive since defending his title at UFC 294 against Alexander Volkanovski, who stepped in on short notice for the injured Charles Oliveira.
The reigning UFC lightweight champion secured the undisputed lightweight title at UFC 280 with a second-round submission of Oliveira. He subsequently defended the title against Volkanovski twice, first at UFC 284 in Australia and then at UFC 294 in the UAE.
Islam Makhachev provides details on UFC return
Islam Makhachev was one of the special guests at the Judo Paris Grand Slam 2024 where he gave an exclusive interview to Judo France. Makhechev provided details of his UFC return in the interview saying, ” In June or July, I have my next fight.” Makhachev had earlier announced his plans to defend the title in June followed by November.
“I’ve been training every day, not anything too hard, but I’m still training every day because as a champion, I have to defend my belt,” Makhachev said of his current training session, which revealed that he is not fighting anytime soon. “I have to be ready always; now, everybody wants to take my belt,” Makhachev further said of his responsibility as a UFC champion.
UFC CEO Dana White previously declared a number one lightweight title contender fight for UFC 300, featuring Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira. The highly anticipated PPV also includes a BMF title clash between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway. All these fighters are potential opponents for Makhachev, who is aiming to set a record in the lightweight division with 13 consecutive wins, provided he secures victory in his upcoming bout.
Islam Makhachev enjoying vacation at Paris
Islam Makhachve was in France to support his teammate, who was competing at the event vying for a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I’m here in Paris because I love sports, especially judo. It was my coach’s favorite sport, and my brother, who represents our team, will compete here, so I came to support him,” said Makhachev.
“I’m from sambo, which is very similar to judo, and I’ve practiced judo many times with the Dagestan judo team. I’ve attended their camps, and I just love judo because our coach, Abdulmanap, always encouraged us to engage in judo,” Makhachev said about his late coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov’s interest in Judo.
Abdulamanap, the late father of the retired undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov, was a big admirer of Judo. Khabib had spoken about this in detail during a debate he had with Olympic wrestling gold medalist and former two-division UFC champion, Henry Cejudo.
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