As per Islam Makhachev, the UFC asked him if he was willing to make the first defense of his welterweight title in January 2026, and Makhachev declined the offer.
Earlier this year, after the fourth defense of his 155-pound championship at UFC 311, Makhachev vacated the throne and moved up to welterweight in pursuit of two-division glory.
At UFC 322, the Dagestani phenom locked horns with then-champion Jack Della Maddalena and dethroned the Australian by dominating him on the mat and cruising to a unanimous decision victory. Notably, Makhachev had more than 19 minutes of ground control time against ‘JDM.