Islam Makhachev was chosen as an opponent without a fight

Russian lightweight champion (up to 70 kg) Islam Makhachev will hold his first fight as the best fighter in the UFC, the main promotion in mixed martial arts (MMA), on June 1 against American Dustin Poirier. This news turned out to be one of the key results of the big tournament in Las Vegas, although neither fighter took part in it. The opportunity to meet with Makhachev Poirier was provided by the results of the fights of compatriot Justin Gaethje and Russian Arman Tsarukyan, who were in line for the championship fight ahead of him. Gaethje lost by knockout to Max Holloway, and Tsarukyan won against another title hunter, Brazilian Charles Oliveira, but won with great difficulty, experiencing several unpleasant moments during the match.

Show UFC300, which the main mixed martial arts promotion staged in Las Vegas, was very special in terms of sonority. A total of a dozen former and current champions took part in it, and several fights within its framework had a high status. But, paradoxically, perhaps the loudest information hits of the evening turned out to be news that featured fighters who did not compete in the tournament at all. We are talking about the announcements of two fights in the lightweight division (up to 70 kg), made at the end of the fight by UFC head Dana White. In the first, on June 1 in New Jersey, Russian Islam Makhachev and American Dustin Poirier will meet, in the second, on June 29 in Las Vegas, Irishman Conor McGregor and Poirier’s compatriot Michael Chandler.

The reason for the value of these messages is clear – they involve very well-known names. Irishman Conor McGregor was considered the unofficial king of MMA before his defeat by Khabib Nurmagomedov six years ago, but even after that he retained phenomenal popularity. At the same time, McGregor had not entered the Octagon for three years and, in general, it seemed that he had ended a serious sports career. He will make an unexpected return after a long break against a very seasoned opponent, who was once the champion of Bellator, the second-ranked promotion, and performed well in the UFC.

Islam Makhachev is the current lightweight belt holder and, in fact, the undisputed king of the UFC. The June fight will be his first in this exceptionally prestigious status.

His Makhachev earned two consecutive victories last year over Australian Alexander Volkanovski, who before the clash with the Russian occupied the top spot in the ranking of the strongest UFC fighters, regardless of weight category.

There was intense intrigue surrounding who would be his opponent in this match. It was believed that in the conditional queue for such a chance, three fighters were ahead of everyone by a margin. American Justin Gaethje, with whom Nurmagomedov ended his career in 2020, Makhachev’s friend and mentor, was challenged to a fight by the champion himself. Arman Tsarukyan, representing Russia and Armenia, looked like an ideal contender from the point of view of many experts – both due to fresh results and memories of the fight with Islam Makhachev five years ago. Tsarukyan lost in it, but caused enormous problems for his opponent. Finally, with Charles Oliveira, having already been defeated once by Makhachev, he was scheduled to have a rematch in October 2023. But he pulled out at the last moment due to an injury to Oliveira, who was replaced by Volkanovski.

The fact that none of the three fighters achieved this right ESPN connects with the results of UFC300. The version is quite logical. Justin Gaethje’s ratings at this tournament collapsed due to his loss to the American fighter Max Holloway. Holloway knocked out Gaethje deeply with a series of punches in the final seconds of the fight.

As for Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira, they staged a very bright fight. Tsarukyan in it took over, but it was a specific win. All three judges’ cards after the fight showed the same score – 29:28. Two referees gave a tiny advantage to Tsarukyan, one – to Oliveira. Moreover, Arman Tsarukyan, in general, worked extremely well, showing different facets of his talent – good striking technique, and the ability to carry out takedowns, taking the enemy to the ground – he coped with the Brazilian primarily thanks to his defensive skills. At the beginning and at the end of the fight, he fell for choking techniques from Charles Oliveira, which looked deadly for the Russian, but in both cases he managed to survive them. The Brazilian avoided equally dangerous situations.

As a result, Arman Tsarukyan’s turn seems to have moved to a later date. At least both he and Islam Makhachev made it clear that they are not against a fight, say, at the end of autumn. And Tsarukyan clarified that he is ready to perform in an “intermediate” fight – for example, in the same show in which Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon.

And the right to fight Islam Makhachev in a match that guarantees a colossal resonance fell to a fighter about whom the champion recently openly said that he “doesn’t deserve it.”

Dustin Poirier hasn’t really looked like a true superstar this decade. Poirier, loser in 2019 to Khabib Nurmagomedov, after which he again reached the championship fight after two consecutive spectacular victories over Conor McGregor, but in it he ran into a choke hold from Charles Oliveira. Then the American defeated Michael Chandler, but soon suffered another painful misfire: Justin Gaethje beautifully knocked him out with a kick to the head. In the previous fight, Dustin Poirier achieved success. However, the Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis, who was crushed by him a month ago, hardly looks like a competitor from the top echelon of the lightweight division.

Alexey Dospehov