Earmarked to fight former foe and prior undisputed lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira in a championship rematch in his return to the Octagon, current gold holder, Islam Makhachev has suggested a pairing with former interim titleholder, Justin Gaethje instead, eyeing a comeback at UFC 299 in March in Miami, Florida.
Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight champion and current pound-for-pound number one ranked fighter, most recently headlined UFC 294 back in October in Abu Dhabi, UAE, landing a one-sided rematch win over Alexander Volkanovski, stopping the Australian with a brutal first round high-kick knockout.
Initially scheduled to feature in a main event bout against Sao Paulo favorite, Oliveira in a championship rematch, Makhachev saw the pairing shelved after the Brazilian suffered a nasty laceration above his right eyebrow ahead of the clash.