Islam Makhachev is currently one of the biggest superstars on the UFC roster. Recently, the fighter revealed his dream of headlining a Madison Square Garden PPV event. Surprisingly, Dana White and the UFC came very close to making it happen, but it didn’t go smoothly.
Dana White and Hunter Campbell are big brains behind the top matchups that take place every month inside the UFC. A recent UFC documentary showed when White learned about Jon Jones pulling out of UFC 295 because of a pectoral injury. To fill the void, Campbell proposed the idea of Charles Oliveira vs Islam Makhachev 2 at the MSG.
I could try to see if Islam and Oliveira wanna go….I think I can pull that off.
Hunter Campbell via Fight Inc: Inside the UFC
The Makhachev vs. Oliveira rematch was a long time coming, and giving them the headliner spot remained a great idea. The Brazilian had bounced back from his previous loss from Makhachev earlier that year, and it was a perfect match-up. White was also extremely excited for the bout.
I f***** like that actually. That’s a f****** great idea.
Dana White via Fight Inc: Inside the UFC
When Campbell made the call, ‘Do Bronx’ declined the opportunity as he hadn’t fully recovered. Initially, UFC 294 featured Oliveira vs. Makhachev as the main event. However, Alexander Volkanovski replaced Oliveira after a gruesome cut sidelined him.
The cut did not heal when Campbell contacted ‘Do Bronx’ about UFC 295. As such, he declined. Ultimately, it was Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka who took the main stage and fought for the light heavyweight title at UFC 295. Nevertheless, Makachev still wants to headline MSG.
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What is Islam Makhachev’s next dream?
Islam Makhachev had already achieved a lot that the world of mixed martial arts has to offer. He submitted the greatest submission artist in UFC to become the lightweight champion. Later, he defended his title twice against a pound-for-pound ace and won both the fights.
Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 (via Imago)Recently, he shocked everyone with his masterclass performance at UFC 302. However, after all this, there is one thing that the Dagestani still yearns for. According to Islam Makhachev, he wants to hold championship belts in two different divisions. Makhachev is ready to move up and fight for the welterweight title in the future.
It’s history, you know, how many double champ we have? This is a dream fight for all fighters to get second belt, you know. This is my dream, and I want to be in the history and people know me as double champ. If I have chance, small chance, I will get.
Islam Makhachev via UFC 302 post-fight press conference
Islam Makhachev has already mentioned that he will be ready to fight in November, which will most probably be held in the Madison Square Garden. It’s interesting to see if it will be for the champ-champ status. Otherwise, he will face #1 contender Arman Tsarukyan for a record fourth title defense.
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