If Islam Makhachev’s manager is to be believed, then Khabib Nurmagomedov shut down a title defense at UFC 324.
Makhachev captured the UFC Welterweight Championship from Jack Della Maddalena in November, and it’s hard to imagine he’d have a quick turnaround at this stage in his career. Still, Makhachev’s manager Ali Abdelaziz is claiming that his fighter was offered the main event slot for January, which would’ve been for UFC’s debut on Paramount+.
Abdelaziz made the claim during an interview with MMAJunkie, and he mentioned that Nurmagomedov put a stop to the offer.
“Even the UFC reached out to me,” Abdelaziz said. “They were asking him to fight in a main event in January. He thought about it, but then ‘No, no,’ Khabib said, ‘Shut up.’ Kamaru Usman’s name was in the mix for the January card, Ian Machado Garry’s name was in the mix too.”
The UFC 324 headliner will be an interim lightweight title fight between Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje. The main champion Ilia Topuria is currently on hiatus due to personal matters. Makhachev had reigned as the lightweight king before vacating the gold to make the move up to 170 pounds. Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira to lay claim to the 155-pound title.
As for what could be next for Makhachev, he has plenty of viable contenders waiting for him. The likes of Ian Machado Garry and Michael Morales are enticing options. Shavkat Rakhmonov might be the most appealing contender, but he was shelved all of 2025 due to injuries.
Makhachev has said he’s most interested in colliding with former champion Kamaru Usman, but not everyone is thrilled about that idea. While Usman got back in the win column with a victory over Joaquin Buckley, many feel that the fresher options in the welterweight title race have done more inside the Octagon as of late.
